A Godfather's Gift: A Second Chance
by pottermommy1118
Summary: In the midst of a war ravaged house Sirius Black finds Harry alive. Making a choice that will change his life, he vows to live up to his promise to his best friend and raise his Godson as his own, forsaking his own desire for revenge. In the wake of his sorrow can be the parent Harry needs when his world fell apart? AU fic. Rated for very intense emotional scenes. No slash
1. Chapter 1: Smoldering

**_Alright, so most of you will notice that the beginning of. chapter one is very nearly a replica of the Sirius End of an Era story. That is because this is the story that, that story began as. Obviously there are some big differences but the first few hundred words are nearly identical. These first two chapters may seem a bit deasia vuish, I did a big of rewrite but they do follow the same trend for a few chapters. Though honestly there are some big differnces here as well._**

**_I lost everything I had previously written of the first story excepting the End Of An Era story so it is all different just similar. I found myself missing the story and started it over, now that ATSR is nearly done, and I am not posting the Next Gen story for a couple of weeks I thought I would dive into this. _**

**_Honestly, I have no idea how long it is going to be, I have no deadline, I am not even going to pretend. _**

**A Godfather's Gift**

Chapter One

**Smoldering**

The smell of smoke was thick and heavy in the air. The sulfur of it was nearly putrid it was so overwhelming. He coughed and wiped the tears streaming down his face. He wasn't sure if they were from smoke or despair.

He could barely see the house that stood before him. The home that had held so much love only moments before.

It still stood. In fact most of it appeared undamaged at all, all but where he knew the stairway to be and though his stomach sickened at the thought, Harry's room. The precious, perfect, peaceful nursery of Lily's creation.

There was no way they were alive, he knew that. But he couldn't leave them in there. And it was missing. There was no dark mark above the house. Why hadn't it been marked? This of all the devastation was surely the most important.

Stepping through the door that was hanging idly on its hinges it took him only seconds to see him. James was laid on his back sprawled half way across the stairs. Obviously trying to block the way up.

Dropping to his knees Sirius let out a howl of grief. So loud he made his own ears ring. This was his brother. This was his friend. This was his life. This was his end. How could he go on without his other half. He had lost so, so much. He couldn't go on.

As he continued to scream his sorrow changed to fierce anger. He would kill him with his own two hands. Peter Petigrew would not get away with this. He would hurt him, he would hurt him for everything he had caused. James was gone. Lily was gone. Harry was gone.

At the thought of Harry he noticed that the now familiar ringing had taken on the sound of his godson's whimpers and cries. He could still hear him, as if the house was being haunted by the boys last fearful moments. As if it were tormenting him with his own mistakes, the mistake in judgment that led to this. How could he have been so stupid, how could he have been so wrong?

Why was his mind torturing him like this? Was it not bad enough to be standing in the wake of the death and destruction that was all that was important to him? Did he have to imagine the fear and pain induced cries of the child that might as well have been his own? Where was the justice in that? And without speaking he knew that the justice lay in the fact that this was all his fault. It was his idea. He thought of the plan. He might as well have brandished the wand that killed James himself.

He stood knowing that he had to move on. He had to get them all out of the house. Relinquishing his magic, he chose to carry James out by hand. It was after all the last thing he could do for him, the last time he would feel him in his embrace. He lifted him, chest to chest and half carried half drug him out the door. He was still warm. No. His body was still warm, this was no longer James. This was the shell that once held him. Even though the shell was still warm to the touch the warmth of life was missing, the glimmer of joy and spirit was missing from the open eyes.

After laying him down on the pavement he continued back into the house and followed the stairs up to Harry's room. His feet went without being told, the path was so familiar. He had spent so much time there, rocking the boy, playing with toys, grabbing nappies for James. He knew that there was no place else that he would find Lily. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would have died trying to save her son.

As he followed his feet the ghost cries of his dead godson got louder and louder.

"Mummmmuuuummmmuuummm Daaaaaaaaaaaaaadddddddddaaaa aaaa" followed by shrieks of pain and fear.

It was then that Sirius stopped to stare at the floor in shock. The body, of Voldemort limp and lifeless lay there at his feet. He was just feet from the cracked and broken crib that he knew held his Godson. He couldn't bear to look in there, he couldn't bear to step a foot closer to the body of their nemesis. Relief of his death had not even occurred to him when he saw the unearthly form. His eyes had fallen on the body of Lily. His hands shook as he knelt down to Lily's still form that lay sprawled at the side of the cot. Touching her hair and pushing it off of her cheeks, his grief finally gave way to sobs. He was drowning in his sorrow and pain when a new cry broke through his haze.

A series of screams followed by an undeniable

"SiiiiwwwiiiiiSiiiiwwwiiii" it was nearly swallowed in the wailing.

He shook his head furiously before lifting her into his arms, just as James had done when he carried her from their wedding, and carried her down the cracked staircase, past the place where she last saw her husband, and lay her beside him on the browning grass of the crisp autumn night. He stared at the motionless faces, seeing nothing there, only recognition for their features, but nothing of the friends, the family that he yearned to see. They were incomplete, the family was incomplete. He glanced back at the house. How was he even supposed to do this. He could barely make his feet move back towards the house.

He had to go, he had to get him out, he couldn't leave him in there with the body of Voldemort. He steeled himself against what he was about to do as he made his way back up the stairs. The insistent wailing was growing louder, beaconing him to the pale blue room.

"It's the wind, it is only the wind." He chanted as he glanced out of the destroyed roof to the windless night. His heartbeat was roaring in his ears, warring with the tormenting cries that his mind was plaguing him with. He stalled briefly, staring at the shattered remains of splintered wood and debris, you have to do this, this is your Godson, you agreed to do anything for him, this qualifies as anything. This is your Godson, you have to do this, for Lily, for Harry, for Jamie. Just do it, take him back to his mum and day, you have to do it, just hold him one last time, he thought desperately.

Fighting back the fear of what he was about to see, Sirius stood and stepped around the form of Voldemort, as he stepped closer to the cot his heart fell into his stomach, he thought he had seen the baby's arm move. He stepped closer and began to move the rubble out of the ruined cot and as he did the cries got louder, not wanting to hope, fearing to believe what was obviously true. As he pulled the last of the debris away he looked down into the tear filled, fear stricken, blood smeared face of the most perfect child in his world.

When Harry saw him his little lip trembled and he began to scream loudly flailing his body to be lifted up. Placing his hands under the squirming child he lifted him into his arms and held him close. He sat in the middle of the floor cradling the scared little boy and wiping the tear mixed blood from his cheeks, not caring that Vodlemort's desecrated body lay inches from him, or that the floor was strewn with wood, and ash.

He used his wand to clean the baby's face so he could see the lightning bolt scar that now marred his forehead. He pulled him close and rocked him, his own tears spilled over the blood-matted black hair. The hair that so resembled James'. Harry continued to cry inconsolably, Sirius looked around frantically, he saw the object of his searching nearly instantly. Under the upturned rocking chair lay a singed gold and brown lion. The one that he and James had found at the London zoo that May, shortly before they had fully gone into hiding. He gripped the small boy and crawled across the floor, fishing it from under the rubble.

"Shhhh, shhhh. Look, Harry. Look it is Godric. Do you see? It is Godric." He soothed as he pushed the plush toy into Harry's hands and stood before taking one last look around the room.

Thinking quickly as he walked out he stopped in the sitting room, grabbing the fuzzy blanket from the back of the sofa that Lily liked to curl up with, he knew from many naps under it that it smelled permanently of her hair. He wrapped Harry in it before walking out into the chilly night air.

He stopped at the bodies of his friends, keeping Harry held to his chest so he couldn't see them. What was he going to do? He had to find Peter, he was going to kill him. He had to, he couldn't let him get away with this. Harry squirmed in his arms, he couldn't leave Harry, not now. What would James say if he left him now? He was his Godfather, it was his job to stay with him. What was he going to do?

"I have him Jamie. I have him. I won't, I won't let him go. I swear it. I will never, never let him go." He said fervently when a loud crack resounded in the night.

He turned to see Hagrid walking towards him.

"Sirius, that you?" he said in his gruff voice as he made his way over.

Sirius adjusted Harry, who was worrying the tail of the lion between his fingers, and hiccupping slightly, his sobs subsided. He stepped away from the bodies and closer to the man he had known since he was eleven years old.

"It's me Hagrid. I have, I have Harry. He is alive, I don't know how but he is alive." He said in a choked voice.

"James an Lily?" Hagrid asked, though he was obviously able to see over his shoulder.

Sirius shook his head, he couldn't find it within himself to speak the words.

"Dumbledore said, if Harry was alive. To take him to him. He said for me to bring him with me." Hagrid said gruffly.

Sirius shook his head. "No, he is staying with me."

"I'm takin him with me Sirius. I swore to Dumbledore. You can come with me if you like, but I have to take 'im."

"No, I am his Godfather. He belongs with me. I am taking him with me. Legally, he is mine. I am in their will as guardian, he is mine. I am not handing him over." He refused.

"Be reas'ble." Hagrid said, holding out his arms. "He's t' go t' his family."

"I am his family. I am who he will go to. Tell Dumbledore that he can meet me at the ministry." With James gone the spells around the house had been broken and he spun on the spot, finding himself in the apparition corridor of the auror department, clinging tightly to Harry.

He had to get to Moody, he had to be here, after everything that had happened tonight, surely Moody had to be here. He was his only hope. Fear as he had never known washed over him, it was even more than his fear for James and Lily, more than he had been afraid to find the baby in the house. If he couldn't get to Moody he could lose Harry, he could lose everything. He was the only one that knew, the only one that really knew. He had to find Moody.


	2. Chapter 2: Traitor

Chapter Two

**Traitor**

He burst into the training facilities, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw his department head separating the aurors and hit wizards into separate squads.

"Moody, Moody. I need you. Help." He yelled as he rushed across the mat.

To his horror his found himself in the center of at least 40 wands, and Moody was advancing on him, a furious expression on his face.

"Give him to me." He growled, nodding at the baby.

"No, you have to listen to me. Think about it. Just listen." Sirius plead, glancing at the wands of his coworkers. All of them there excepting his partner, except for James.

"Dumbledore sent word. I know what you have done. He was your partner, your friend. How dare you hold his son." His role model said flatly, still approaching him.

"How could you believe I would ever do that to Lily? To Jamie? You know me better than that old man. You have known me since I was seventeen years old, you know that I would never, never do such a thing. Give me a potion, take my memories, anything, but think about it Alastor. If I killed them, if I ever could have handed them to Voldemort, why would I have walked into the sodding ministry of magic with Harry? This is the very last place I would have come. I would never, never hurt James, and you will have to kill me before you get Harry from my hands."

His words seemed to register with Moody on some level. His eyes weren't quite as hard as they once were. "You are a suspect Sirius, you have to give him to me. You have to be placed under arrest." He said calmly. "If you are innocent, you will cooperate."

"Get Remus, go find Remus, he should be at our flat in London. Get him, I will give Harry to him and I will turn myself over. But I will only relinquish Harry to him and until I am proven guilty legally I am Harry's guardian. And until then, what I say, it is what goes." He said firmly.

He looked up as the sounds of new footsteps came into the room, he glanced down at the toddler who was now asleep in his arms. Dumbledore and the new Minister of Magic, Fudge, walked into the fray.

"Black you have very little options here, do you forget? I know that you were the secret keeper." Dumbledore said coolly. "Give me Harry, he needs to go to his aunt and uncle's. It is where he belongs. How will you raise him from Azkaban? All this is doing is traumatizing him more."

"No, I will not go to prison. You will listen, because you are wrong. You will listen. I will give Harry to Remus. I swear it, and then I will submit to questioning and potions or whatever else. But until you prove me guilty that boy is mine, Dumbledore."

He saw Fudge look at Dumbledore who nodded. "Remus knows too, he was there the night it was decided. We will get him, but it will be to your detriment. I have already talked to him tonight, he was with me when I found out about James and Lily. If you think he will find pity on you, well you are wrong." Albus said.

Fudge pointed to a group of aurors who all apparated away, after having worked with Sirius since he left Hogwarts they all knew where he lived.

Sirius slumped down into the floor, letting Harry lull in his arms. He looked at Dumbledore's disapproving glare.

"It wasn't me Albus, it was Peter, it was always Peter, you have to find him. It was Peter. Remus will know, he will believe me." He said softly, letting the emotions of the night wash over him while he waited for Remus.

He did not have to wait for long. In a few moments Remus clattered into the training room. His face was white, his eyes red rimmed, it looked as if he had dug his nails into his cheeks. He opened his mouth to speak before Dumbledore held up his hand to silence him.

"Remus, Sirius has agreed to give Harry to you. As legally he is Godfather if we take him forcefully it is kidnapping, not to mention it would be dangerous for Harry if we took him by force. I have brought you here, to take Harry." He said in a low voice.

When Remus didn't speak, Sirius got nervous, he merely stepped closer to him, when he was an arms length away Remus visibly flinched, his eyes swam with tears.

"Give him to me." He said hoarsely.

"Remus, it wasn't me, you know that it was not me." Sirius choked.

"Just…Just give me Harry. I will take him, just give me Harry."

When Sirius made no move to hand him over Remus stepped closer and placed his hands under the sleeping child's arms, pulling him from Sirius' grip. Harry woke with the transfer and began to cry at Sirius' absence. He stepped forward to take him back when Remus stepped back from him and raised his own wand.

"How…How could you do this? Do Lily? To James? To Harry! He is your Godson, he needed you, he trusts you, and look at him, look at his face, you did this. How, I don't understand how you could do this." Remus said in a deadly quiet voice.

Sirius gaped at him like a fish out of water, he thought that he had done this…How could he even begin to think that. Granted, he had thought the same of Remus before tonight, but Sirius betraying James? It was absurd.

"Moony, please, you know I couldn't have done that. Not to them. Not to Jamie. It was Pete, you have to listen to me." He stuttered. He was so stunned that he didn't even notice Moody stepping closer and binding his wrists together.

"You are officially in custody of the Ministry of Magic for questioning and suspicion of the conspiracy for the death of James, Lily and Harry Potter." He said in a gravely voice.

He shook his head as he watched Remus pat the back of the again sobbing toddler, this could not be happening. He couldn't even speak as he felt himself be drug from the room. When he saw Remus hand Harry over to Dumbledore it felt like he snapped.

"NO! Do not do this! Remus please. Do not give him to those muggles. He doesn't belong there. You have to keep him. Just keep him. Harry! Harry!" he screamed, until he was silenced with a swipe of Moody's wand.

He continued to fight all the way to the interview cell where he was thrown into the room and unbound, Moody came in behind him and locked the door before sitting in the chair behind the table, he silently removed the charm and allowed Sirius to speak.

"Where did they take him?" he demanded.

"I believe they are taking him to Privet Drive." Moody responded. "How could you do this Sirius? He was your partner."

"I didn't! I didn't do it!" Sirius yelled. "I am telling you, it was Peter, it has always been Peter. It wasn't me, it wasn't Remus as I had thought, it was Peter."

"Albus and Remus both are going to testify and submit memories that it was you who were their secret keeper." He said simply.

"Let them, it is what I wanted them to think. What James wanted them to think. It was my idea, all mine, James just went along with it. I did not sell them out, but I may as well have. It was my fault that we switched. You have to find Pettigrew. You have to find him." Sirius pled.


	3. Chapter 3: You Stand Accused

**_Alright, well you shouldn't recognize much from this point on. _**

**_It is all different from here on out._**

**_Though chapter two wasn't really the same as before either was it?_**

**_I am glad so many of you already like it. _**

**_The trial and everything will go by quickly because this is about his life after all of that._**

**_Hope you enjoy,_**

**_Oh and I am definitely NOT JKR_**

Chapter 3

**You Stand Accused**

He was positive that he had never cried more in his life, he had never been this emotionally exhausted ever. He couldn't even feel the power of the dementors above because he could only think of the most terrible days of his life as it was. Not to mention that he had failed Harry, he had been with the muggles for two weeks. It had taken two weeks to get a hearing set up, two weeks to get interviews and memories and potions, two weeks to find Peter. Two weeks in which they had buried James and Lily. They buried them without him. He couldn't even find the words or thoughts to portray how he felt.

He looked up at the risers from where he sat chained to a chair. Remus was sitting beside of Peter, who looked incredibly nervous and fidgety, Sirius knew that he had been legally forced to come. He couldn't believe that Remus could believe Peter over himself. He looked down into his lap. He wasn't sure but he thought that Moody might just believe him, he was certainly keeping both of his eyes on Peter that much was certain. He had been the one to give Sirius the paper with the burial announcement and the memorial page. He was fairly sure that his mentor believed him, someone had to believe him, anyone.

Suddenly the dementor fog cleared from his head, he noticed the silver patronus shield go up over the top of the room, blocking the life draining power from not only the Wizengammot and the spectators, but also from himself.

"Sirius Orion Black, you are hereby accused of acting in accordance with he who must not be named, conspiring with the dark order for the deaths of Harry Potter, Lily Potter and James Potter. Succeeding in the murder of Lily Potter and James Potter. And attempted murder of Harry Potter. How say you?" Bartemus Crouch, the head of the wizengammot and Military Law Enforcement said calmly.

Sirius tried to get the shake out of his voice, he was unsuccessful. "Not-Not guilty."

"We will first here the testimony against the accused. All witnesses have been prepped with veritiserum. The high court recognizes Albus Dumbledore."

Sirius watched silently, as first Dumbledore, then Remus gave their accounts of his betrayal. He was beyond hurt that Remus did not believe him, but after all that was the plan, for Remus not to know, but it still hurt. When Peter scurried his way to the witness chair Sirius boiled over in anger. How dare he, how dare he step foot or show his face in front of him. It took everything he had not to lunge for the excuse of a man, the only thing that kept him in his seat being the fact that he had been chained to the chair after all. As it was he bit his tongue so hard to stay silent that he felt blood pool in his mouth.

"Peter Pettigrew, you were witness to Sirius Black accepting the Fidelius Charm and acting as secret keeper, you were there for the act." Bartemus said firmly.

"Er…." Peter's voice quaked. "I was there when the charm was performed." Sirius didn't miss the way that Pettigrew had evaded the question.

"And you acted as the bondsman for the oath."

"No, I was not the bondsman." His voice shook.

"You did not create the bond?" Crouch said, his voice full of questions, this testimony already differed from Albus and Remus' account of what was supposed to happen.

Sirius looked up and saw Remus glance at him briefly, a hit of doubt in his eyes.

"Did you trust Sirius to keep the secret of the Potter's whereabouts. Did you know he would hand them over to he who must not be named?"

"No, no I did not think that he would give information of any sort to the Dark Lord. He knew the location, he was able to get into the house."

He had told the truth, Sirius thought, he had known the location. Once the charm was done Sirius couldn't even see the house until Peter had told him the location and suddenly it appeared before him again. He had been able to go in and out, but he was not able to share that information.

Fudge nodded and motioned for Peter to return to his seat, Sirius was irate. They hadn't even asked him to recount that night, hadn't even questioned him about Halloween.

"The court would like to recognize Alastor Moody, in witness for the accused." Crouch said, Sirius' head whipped up as Moody took a seat beside him.

"You are here to bear witness that Sirius Black is not a death eater?"

"I am."

"What is your proof?"

"He does not bear the mark on his arm." Without asking he pulled Sirius arm straight and tore the robes from the place on his wrist, showing the bare, skin. 'All death eaters bear the dark mark, those of us in higher positions know this to be true. Sirius Black's skin is unblemished and whole. No mark appears."

"Do you have any other testimony for the accused?"

"Only that he has been one of my aurors since he graduated Hogwarts, James Potter was not only his partner but also his best mate and brother. Harry is his Godson, I have never seen a bond between friends like James and Sirius and I do not believe him capable of bringing any harm upon him or his family. I have seen many dark wizards, as have you Crouch, but Sirius Black is not one of them. You should recognize that."

Sirius forced himself to meet Crouch's eyes. They looked back at him hard.

"Sirius Black do you agree to take another vial of Veritiserum, showing absolute truth and submitting any memories to be used in this trial pertaining to the night of October 31st?"

"Yes, yes I agree." He said. This was it, they couldn't deny his truth now, they couldn't refuse to believe what was right in front of their faces.

As he swallowed the potion he stared straight into Remus' eyes, refusing to look anywhere else as he began his testimony. He maintained eye contact until he began talking about his plan to use Peter, he closed his eyes against the tears. His voice shook as he spoke, he nearly gagged when he talked about finding their bodies and understanding what had happened. He was so wrapped up in his tale that he hadn't noticed when Remus stood and walked away from Peter, revulsion on his face, or when the two aurors bound Peter's wrists as his memory of being the bondsman for Peter and James showed in the air above him.

"I just want my Godson, please." He whispered in finish.

The entire courtroom was silent. He had yet to open his eyes, he felt the traitorous tears hot on his cheeks.

"This hearing will not come to a vote as there has been extenuating evidence presented. Sirius Black you are hereby released of all charges, required only to return in two weeks time to present your witness against Peter Pettigrew." Crouch's voice boomed out.

Sirius' eyes shot open. "Harry, can I have him, where can I get him?" he stammered.

It was Dumbledore who stood. "Harry Potter's situation is dire that he stay with his blood family, it is the strongest protection he has."

Crouch looked at Dumbledore then back down at Sirius. "You are the legal, Godfather and guardian of the child?"

"I am." Sirius said.

"He is." Dumbledore said in a resigned tone.

"One month from today, you will have a custody hearing, provided that you can provide a completely safe and warded environment for the boy, I legally can not and will not keep him from you. This session is adjourned." He said with such finality that Sirius couldn't argue.

He had one month, one month to find a way to make a completely safe home for his Godson. One month to do right by Lily and James. He stood and strode from the courtroom.

As he made his way down the hall he felt a strong hand pull him round to face them. Even without looking he recognized that grip.

"Sirius, I-I don't even know what to say." Remus said, tears in his eyes.

"You aren't going to say anything. Give me two hours and I will have my stuff removed from the flat. It is yours, keep it, I won't go back." He said harshly, finally feeling the anger at his only remaining friend set in.

"Sirius you have to listen to me." Remus begged.

"Like you listened to me? Sure I would be glad to pay you the same kindness, we are friends after all." Sirius scathed before turning and walking from the ministry.

0o0o0o0o

Sirius stood in the atrium of the ministry, he had just watched the most hated person in his life be led away by dementors. He would serve a life sentence in Azkaban. One of his biggest worries was gone, now he just had to find a way to raise Harry in safety.

"Sirius." He turned automatically to the voice. His reflexes taking over in his despondent state he looked at Remus, all the sadness from the last month showing on his face.

"You have to let me help you. I know you are angry with me, I do. I don't blame you, but Harry needs us both. You have to let me help you."

"And how are you supposed to help me?" Sirius replied, too tired and emotionally worn down to even show anger or venom.

"Just come with me." He said.

"You don't deserve for me to come with you."

"You are right, I don't. But Harry does. What are you planning on doing? Raising him in a room over the Leaky Cauldron? I know you have been staying there for the last week. Do you think they are going to give you custody of Harry if you don't even have a place to live with him?"

"What do you care? You don't want me to get Harry, you could care less where I stay. I am a traitor."

"Of course I want you to have Harry. Be realistic here Sirius, no matter what you know I want you to get Harry from those muggles."

"You gave him to Dumbledore." Sirius growled.

"I thought you murdered his parents! Of course I gave him to Dumbledore. You would have done the same thing if Peter had him."

"No, I would have killed him." Sirius said firmly, he refused to even say the name.

"Well then be glad that I am not you. Just come with me, for Harry."

Defeated, and knowing that no matter how angry he was, he couldn't and wouldn't keep Remus out of Harry's life he followed his friend. Once they made their way to the apparition point he held out his arm, Sirius took it and was sidelonged away.

He stood in front of a cottage, not unlike the one that once stood in Godric's Hollow. It was made of old stone and appeared to be two stories high. He stared in amazement at the well manicured lawns, you could hear water rushing from somewhere close by.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"We are in Chateauroux, about two hours south of Paris. This was my childhood home. This is where we lived when I got attacked." Remus said softly.

"You brought me to France?" Sirius said, stunned.

Remus shrugged. "Look, you can't raise him in England, that much is clear, everyone will flock to him and you, anyone that knows-knew P-P- James will know who he is instantly. Not to mention you are Sirius Black, nearly everyone knows you, even if they don't recognize Harry. It has to be safe. We can set up wards. It sits a bit back from the river, he won't get that far out on his own I am sure, at least not for a few years, but we will ward it too, it will act as a natural barrier. The town is great. They speak a lot of English, you will do fine. There is even an old castle. You will feel right at home."

"But, if you have this house why aren't you living here?"

"I can't, I just can't. I would like to come stay some, but this would be perfect for you and for Harry. Come on, let me show you inside." Remus said, pulling him behind him and through the front door.

"It is already warded against intruders, you have to be the home owner or live here to open any door or window. The cellar is a safe room, it was built for me as a kid but we can respell it to keep others out rather than keeping you in. It will be a good point to bring up to the ministry."

Sirius was quiet as they made their way through the home, the main floor held a full bath and a bedroom, as well as an eat in kitchen, a sun poarch and a sitting room. The small scullery off the back had a door that opened into a large garden, complete with a tire swing that hung from an old tree.

"You might need to reinforce that rope before he uses it but knowing Harry, he will love it."

Remus pushed Sirius back into the house and up the steps to the second story. Sirius couldn't help but think of the last time he had walked up steps like these. He shuddered involuntarily. He watched as Remus pushed open the first door to the right, it was a nice sized bath. The door next to it was a large bedroom with a rather large window. You could just see the river a ways back.

"This will be your room." Remus said confidently before leading him across the hall to a smaller bedroom, it overlooked the side garden. "Harry's room, we will have to paint everything of course." He said. He pushed open a door to the smallest room on the landing, the walls were lined with built in shelves and had the same view as the smaller bedroom. "And a study. It will be good for when he is sleeping and you have work to do. The whole house is hooked up to muggle utilities. Electricity and all, you won't need fire light or lanterns, we will go buy you some lamps, just like the flat. With just you and Harry your magic won't overload it. We can get you a telly and everything." Remus said with a glint in his eyes.

"You won't stay with us?" Sirius asked again.

"I won't live here. Firstly, they will never give you Harry if you live with a werewolf. Secondly, I just can't live here all the time again. But I would like to be here two or three days a week. Just enough to help, and be a part of his life, and yours. Of course this is saying you will let me."

"I can't take your house." Sirius said, exasperated.

"It isn't my house. It is yours, I already signed over the papers. You bought the flat, you gave it to me. This is now yours, and Harry's. We have a lot of work ahead of us though, so I think you should get used to the idea now, we only have two weeks to have it ready for a toddler."

Sirius thought of Harry and then of the promise he had made to James and Lily the day he agreed to be Godfather. He remembered how honored he had been and he swallowed his pride. "Let's get started."


	4. Chapter 4: A Home Gone Overboard

Chapter Four

**A Home Gone Overboard**

"I can't paint it blue, I just can't." Sirius said as Remus held up the light blue paint choice.

"Alright, no blue." Remus said with a nod.

"What about Red?" Sirius said with a smile.

"Red? In a baby's room?" Remus replied stiffly.

Sirius nodded. "I don't want it to look like any of Lily's nurseries, she did green and yellow, she did cream and brown, and finally she did the blues and I can't do it. I just, I can't have it the same." He said, attempting not to tear up.

Remus nodded, he too could remember all three of Harry's rooms that Lily so carefully decorated. "Red it is, and gold I am assuming?"

"Whatever else would I choose?" Sirius asked with a smile.

Over the last week and a half he and Remus had worked together to pull the house in order, only taking a break for the full moon, which Remus insisted on using the cellar for so they wouldn't have to leave. It went unspoken that Sirius would not be transforming with him, they couldn't face doing it without James. It just seemed wrong on every level.

Once the moon had set the next morning they transformed the cellar into a safe room for emergencies to keep all others excluding Sirius and Harry out. They had childcharmed the stairs, put up a child barrier charm on the bank of the river, and an impenetrable intruder charm. They warded the house from apparition, and dark marks. The fireplace had been connected to the floo network but was accessible only by Sirius or Remus, otherwise you had to wait for someone to open the line to let you out of the fire. Sirius had even reluctantly allowed Dumbledore to come and set his own charms and protections about the property. He hadn't even come close to forgiving either of the men for doubting him when he tried to tell them the truth. He was only accepting their help for Harry's sake. And because he knew that he could not keep Remus from Harry, James wouldn't have wanted that. And he knew he would need the help. He may be an alright Godfather but a father he was not.

Dumbledore was still trying to convince him to leave Harry at Privet Drive but Sirius was adamant, Harry was coming home with him. Knowing that Remus was helping, and seeing that there was no way that Sirius was going to lose the custody battle for the boy, he decided that the only thing left to do was to put up his own words and protections on the house. He even used some of Voldemort's actual blood in order to ward the house against him in any incarnation. He had to admit, having the boy in an entirely different country had its advantages, he wasn't likely to be recognized and no one would even think to look for him here. As far as Dumbledore knew no one even knew that this house was still even in Remus' family, or rather now was now Sirius'. He had sealed the homeowner's records to all sight but his own, Sirius, and Remus. The ministry wouldn't even be informed of Harry's exact location, a decision made after the sudden and unfortunate attack on the Longbottom family, resulting in their immediate hospitalization. This made Albus even more wary, but with Sirius' refusal, the best he could do was make it safer for them all.

0o0o0o

After shopping so much that the Black family vault was considerably emptier Sirius and Remus stood in the finished child's room. Sirius was staring at the box that held the brand new, white, wooden cot. It was still unassembled.

"Does he have to sleep in that? Isn't he big enough for one of those little mini beds?" he asked, just looking at the picture of the baby bed made him sick to his stomach.

"He could get out of a toddler bed too easily, he is only 16 months old Sirius. He is still just a baby." Remus replied.

"I can't put him in that. Or rather, I don't think I can take him out of it…or walk up to it if he is crying." He muttered.

"How is it any different than the playpen downstairs?" Remus asked.

"It is. It just is. You don't know. You weren't there. I-I had to step over a dead body to take him out Remmy. Harry's blood was all in the bedding. I just, I can't do it, I can't. Can we put a playpen in here?"

"I don't think the case worker would approve of that. He needs the cot." Remus said firmly.

"Well, put it up then but I am not putting him in it. I will put another playpen in my room." Sirius said stubbornly.

"What if we put up the cot, until all of the court proceedings are done and finished, and then, we can take it down and put up the toddler bed?"

"I don't want that in here at all." Sirius argued, glaring at the offending box.

"Fine, fine, we will keep the cot just in case they say something and then if they do we will put it up. Let's go get a toddler bed." He sighed, heading for the door again.

00o0o0

Remus looked around the room, who knew setting up this room would have been that difficult. The dark red walls actually looked really good with the gold window topper. The small little bed sat in the corner of the room, topped with gold and red striped bedding and the newly cleaned and repaired Godric the lion. Dumbledore had returned it to Remus after dropping Harry off at his relatives'. There was a changing station and a rocking chair, all in matching white wood like the toddler bed, and the unconstructed cot that was currently taking up space in the attic. There was a chest filled with brand new toys, both magical and muggle, a shelf of books and coloring pads, boxes of crayons and a pack of color change child's washable inks from Wee Wizards' Toy Shop.

They had spent far more of Sirius' inheritance than was entirely necessary on this room alone, set aside the entire house. It was perhaps a good thing that Sirius was the final remaining Black and that he owned all of their inheritance. It was the only way he and Remus could have afforded to do this. They had also bought two extra playpens, Sirius had insisted that he needed one in his room and that Remus needed on in his downstairs room as well, never mind that there was one in the sitting room already. If Harry hadn't been spoilt before, he certainly was going to be now.

Today was the day that Sirius had the hearing. Yesterday the case worker had come and inspected the house after being sidelonged by Sirius to the location. Remus knew the house was set up as perfectly as they could have done it, that it couldn't have been any safer had they encased it in a bubble made from the strongest protection charm. He was also fairly sure that it had helped that Sirius had dated the case worker briefly at the end of her seventh year, the beginning of his fifth. He was thanking his lucky stars that they had ended on great terms, in fact she flirted the entire way through the visit. She had nothing negative to say about anything they had done. She did suggest a lock box for each of their wands that would only open to their touch. Sirius had run out and bought one for every room. Remus was certain that his account was going to be empty by the time Harry arrived in his new home.

"Are you ready? Do you think that this looks alright? Do I look fit enough to give a kid to?" Sirius asked frantically as he walked into the hall, having heard Remus in the child's room.

"Sirius, I don't think that dress robes make you any more able to raise a one and a half year old. This is just protocol. There is no chance that they won't give you Harry, you are already his legal guardian." He said soothingly as he buttoned his own robes.

Sirius huffed and headed for the door. "Well come on, I can't be late." He insisted.

"You have forty-five minutes." Remus replied, eyebrows raised.

"Just, come on." Sirius huffed.

0o0o0o

His pacing was driving Remus mad.

"Sirius sit down." He demanded.

"I can't." he said temperamentally.

His emotions were so overtaxed it was ridiculous. Remus was scared he was going to snap before it was over and done with.

"Sirius Black?" a cool voice said from the door that stood at the end of the hall.

Sirius jumped like he had been scalded and rushed forward, Remus followed a few steps behind. When they entered the office they found that Dumbledore was already inside, seated around a rectangle table beside of Crouch. On Crouch's other side sat Melanie Abbott, the case worker. Fudge sat at the end of the long table and what they assumed to be an undersecretary sat to his left. Sirius sat in the empty chair across from Dumbledore, Remus took the seat to his immediate right. At the other end of the table sat two women, one who looked to be in her early fifties and another that Remus instantly recognized as a Ravenclaw a few years his elder. Bones was her surname he believed.

The older woman at the end of the table spoke. "This meeting is to decide the permanent custodial placement of the minor child, Harry James Potter. We the department of the safe keeping of underage magic and well- being acknowledge the plea of Sirius Orion Black as sole guardian and Godfather as set forth in the will of the child's deceased parents, James and Lily Potter."

Remus glanced at Sirius, he looked like he was going to be sick at any moment. He could understand, they had all but completely avoided the topic of Lily and James over the last weeks, focusing solely on Harry. He was fairly certain that unless specifically asked about it, Sirius hadn't even mentioned Lily or James, besides when refusing to decorate the room like a nursery.

"I am to understand that you have acquired a home for you and the aforementioned minor child?" The woman directed towards Sirius.

He gulped before replying. "I have." He said simply.

"And it is out of this jurisdiction?" she said coolly.

"It seemed to be in the best interest of Harry that we not live in England at this time, both for his physical and emotional safety. Although we have made arrangements to still have his magic traced by this ministry and we are still liable here, the French ministry has already agreed to terms set forth and I will follow both sets of laws to the letter." Sirius said, just as they had prepared.

"In your findings Miss. Abbott, did everything at the dwelling seem safe, secure, and appropriate for a child?"

"It did, it was more than adequate as you see in my report. I made only one suggestion and within hours of my departure I received an owl with a payment report showing the purchase of several touch sensor wand boxes."

"In your opinion, will this child be well cared for and nurtured in this environment?" she directed towards Melanie.

"I believe that we are more in danger of Harry Potter becoming the most over indulged child to ever attend Hogwarts than we are of him not being cared for if he lives with Sirius Black."

Remus saw Dumbledore chuckle slightly and his eyes twinkle at the honesty in the statement.

"Mr. Black, who will reside with you and the child?"

"Erm…No one, it will be the two of us." He said, confused.

"Remus Lupin will not live with the two of you?"

"No, he has a flat here in London, though I am sure, as one of Harry's parents' and one of my own friends he will be a regular guest in our home." He said unsurely.

"Will this include days immediately following or before the full moon?"

Remus understood before Sirius and spoke up.

"I have already decided and agreed that I will not visit within the four days prior to or after any full moon. We would never subject Harry to that."

Both the older woman and the Ravenclaw nodded.

"Albus Dumbledore, you have placed your own charms on this dwelling, am I to understand you now agree with the placement of Harry James Potter with Sirius Black?"

"I still believe that he is physically safest with his blood relatives, simply because of the nature of the situation, but you would be hard pressed to find any safer place for him than Sirius' home in Chateauroux. It has been made safer than even Hogwarts for the boy. I do believe that Sirius will provide a more emotionally nurturing and enriching life for Harry than his muggle relations would, however. I have to agree with that. Not to mention that I know for a certain fact that James and Lily had always intended Harry to be raised by Sirius, should anything of ill will have happened to them. I will consent to the placement." Dumbledore said with a slight nod in Sirius' direction.

The woman nodded in reply before making brief eye contact with both Fudge and Crouch. After a moment of checking the forms in front of her she looked to Sirius.

"I am happy to hereby grant you full custodial physical guardianship of Harry James Potter."

Remus nearly had to hold Sirius in his chair.

"When can I have him? Is he here?" he asked, looking around wildly as if Harry had been in the room the whole time and he merely overlooked him.

"His relatives must be notified and given appropriate time to gather his belongings. You will be escorted by Miss. Abbott to Privet Drive precisely one week from today at noon to take the child into your custody. As accepted by this hearing Albus Dumbledore shall also accompany you both to Privet Drive and back to your home in France. Five aurors will also be undercover and will stand guard until you apparate with the child to your home."

"A week?" Sirius said, sounding defeated.

"One week from today."

He knew better than to argue, but a week sounded so far away, and everything was already there and ready at the house.

"A week is perfect, we still have things to get for him after all." Remus said with a nod.

"There is more to buy!" Sirius said, stunned.

"You didn't get nappies yet, or food in the kitchen, we have eaten out all week." Remus chuckled. "And we need to go to Godric's Hollow before he gets here." He said more seriously.

The surprised, frantic gleam in Sirius' eye faded away. "Right, Godric's Hollow." He said tonelessly. They had agreed that they should go and see if they could salvage anything at all, pictures, blankets, anything, even if they would just put it up in the attic for Harry when he was older.

"Well then, I think we are agreed, Mr. Black, we will see you in one week."


	5. Chapter 5: Reality of Goodbye

**_I am posting this a day early for two reviewers…_**

**_Wierdalien- because he helped me with my UK words :)_**

**_And_**

**_Daughter of The Full Moon- because she was so excited to read another chapter that I couldn't resist…_**

**_I think I died a bit inside when I wrote this one._**

**_I certainly made myself cry._**

Chapter Five

**Reality of Goodbye**

He stood at the bottom of the stairs looking up, obviously trying not to look at the actual stairs, "I will find the stuff down here that we can get."

"Sirius." Remus said gently.

"No, you don't get it, you didn't go up there last time. I cannot do it again. Be glad I am even in the sodding town, let alone the house." He said harshly.

"I do, I do get it. I lost them too you know." Remus replied, irritation evident in his tone.

"You don't. Do you know where at on those steps Jamie was lying? Do you know where I put him in the garden? Do you know how he felt in my arms? How his body was still all warm? How about how it felt when I thought I was going crazy and heard a dead baby crying? I left him in that cot for at least twenty minutes while I tried to ignore it. You don't know." Sirius spat.

Remus wiped his hand down his face. "Fine, you are right, I don't know any of that, I am sorry that you do, but, I can't do this alone."

"Well then, we are leaving everything up there, up there. I am not going there, I can't. I can't look at it again. You have to understand, I can't see it all again." He said, staring at the place where he could still almost see James lying. The very last place he had been alive.

Remus looked towards the top of the stairs, he was halfway there but knew he couldn't see the wreckage of the nursery alone, he wasn't strong enough, and Sirius wasn't strong enough to see it again. He watched as Sirius turned his back to the steps and walked away into the bottom level of the house and he followed.

"There are pictures in the sitting room that aren't damaged at all. If we clean them up we can put them up for him for later." Sirius called from the room.

Remus entered behind him. "You should put that one in his room." He said, in a stiff voice, pointing to the picture that Sirius was staring at on the mantle.

His hand shook as he lifted it. "I-I don't know, wouldn't it be hard for him to see it, I mean, it is hard for me to see it." He said, his voice shaking as bad as his hand.

"Do you want him to know about them?"

Sirius jerked his head towards his friend, a scowl in place. 'Of course I want him to know about them."

"Then what is the point in hiding it? If we are going to tell him about them, than we should pick a few out and sit them around your house. Like that one." He said, pointing to one on the wall.

"He is in that one." Sirius scowled, seeing the smaller boy standing to the side of the frame.

"Well, take it and put it up. You can see how happy we all were in it. He should know that we were that happy at one time."

"Of course we were happy, we were only fifteen." Sirius said, pulling the photo frame from its place on the wall.

"Here, this is a good one for the sitting room." Remus said, holding out a gilded frame.

Sirius shook his dark waves from his eyes, trying not to let the tears overflow as he looked at the picture. It had been taken at the zoo when they bought Godric. He remembered the muggle that took the shot for them. Remus was ruffling James' ever untidy hair as Sirius pointed to the very real lion behind them, Harry in his arms. Lily was laughing happily as James turned to roar back at the lion, making Harry cry and Sirius look alarmed. He didn't even try to stop his laugh as he looked at the moving image. Peter hadn't gone with them that day, he had claimed to have other plans.

"We can put that one up." He said, clearing his throat to cover the quaiver in his voice.

"This is hard." Remus said, stating the obvious as he ran his hands down his face and pushed his sandy blonde hair from his forehead. Sirius grunted in reply.

They continued on taking all of the pictures and picking a few specific ones to sit throughout the house. Sirius found one in James' downstairs study, his tears found their way from his eyes when he saw it. It was from James' bachelor party. It was of the two of them, before they were too wasted to take a decent picture. Their arms were flung around each other and they were both laughing at something the other had said.

He stared at the pair of them for a long time, he gripped the frame so tightly that the frame cracked. He couldn't take it, this was something that he just couldn't do, not now, he just couldn't do it. He felt the tears wash over his cheeks as he stormed from the room. Remus looked up at the sound of the door closing.

"I can't do this." He said bluntly.

"Sirius."

"No, no, I can not do this, I will not do it, not now." He said, the tone of finality so thick that Remus just stared at him sadly.

"We have to do this, for Harry. It isn't about us."

Sirius brandished the picture of he and James in his hand, "This, this is completely about us. This was my life too, our life. This IS about us and I can't do it, I can't say goodbye not now."

"Siri." Remus started to plead.

"NO! This is about me, this is my life, I can't do it. Not like this. You don't get it. You weren't here. And you said goodbye, you were at their services, remember? The ones that you planned and you held without me ever being there? You buried them before I even got out of holding Remus, you have dealt with it, I can't do it, not like this." Sirius blew up.

Remus' face twisted. "Sirius, they had to be buried, I thought-I thought, I didn't know." He tried to justify.

"If you would have listened you would have known. But you didn't. Bloody fucking hell Remus you buried them without me, you buried him without me. My best mate, practically my brother. You buried James without me. You didn't even let me, you didn't even give me the chance. I WAS THE ONE THAT CARRIED HIM FROM HERE! I WAS THE ONE THAT HELD HIM! I WAS THE ONE THAT WIPED THE LEFT OVER TEARS OFF HER FACE! HOW DARE YOU!" he screamed, he had completely lost control, something they had both known was coming soon.

"Siri, please."

"Do not call me that. DO NOT USE HIS NAME. Don't call me that ever, EVER again." He turned for the door before Remus put a restraining hand on his shoulder, he jerked away from him.

"Take the box for the house. For Harry, just take it." He held out the box that held about 8 pictures, Sirius threw the picture in that was still in his hand on top and roughly took the box before heading out the front door.

He knew that they were here in town. Moody had given him the paper while he was still being held. He knew that they were in the old cemetery behind the church. He glanced back at the dilapidated cottage once more, he could see the silhouette of Remus still standing in the sitting room staring off towards the door. Turning his back he walked the familiar path to the old church. The frames rattled in the box, he tried his hardest to ignore them. So he thought back to the only time he had been in this church, it hadn't been but three months ago, maybe four. It was Harry's baptism. James thought it ludicrous but Lily insisted, she was after all a muggleborn, she had been raised going to mass and especially with the threat looming over their heads and James going back and forth of the idea of the fidelius charm she had wanted it done.

He could remember the gleam in her eye as they stood at the stone basin at the front of the small church, the tears that sparkled there. He honestly had gotten a bit teary too when the man, the father he thought it had been called, when he had him hold Harry out, Harry had not been impressed with his baptism in the slightest. Even just thinking of the memory Sirius chuckled at the devastated face that the baby had worn as the water streamed over his mass of black hair. He had to admit though, Harry had looked extremely cute in the little white muggle outfit that Lily had bought for him.

As the chill in the early December air pulled him from the memory, he realized that he was already standing in the cemetery. He had been unconsciously looking at names for what had to be several moments. There had to be an easier way to go about this, he could be here for hours looking at stones otherwise. Thinking quickly he pulled out his wand, and the picture from the study that still lay broken on the top of the box. He cast a locator charm over the picture, knowing that alive or dead it would point him to the owner of the picture. His eyes followed the bright blue light that sored to the back row of stones, he sighed and followed it. It made it rather final when even a locator charm told you that someone was in here. He wasn't sure why it hadn't seemed final before, but that blue light made it gut wrenchingly so.

His steps slowed as he approached the stone. Even from this distance he could see the names. As he got closer he couldn't see through the rivulets of tears that streamed down his face. He fell to his knees in the freshly dug earth, the box dropped onto its side, the pictures spilled out. He dug his hands into the moist dirt, just to encase them in something, anything that was a part of his lost friend.

"How could you expect me to deal with this?" he cried out. There was no answer, and he couldn't fathom why one small part of him thought there would be.

"You always call me on my bullshit. ALWAYS, why didn't you tell me I was being stupid? Why did you let me change your mind? No one would have protected you like I would have, I see it now, but why didn't you see it then? Why didn't you see that? You saw everything, you always knew when one of us needed put in our place or was being dishonest. You saw Remmy for what he was at 12 years old but you couldn't see Pete? What the hell was wrong with you?" he gasped for air as his hands began to sting from cold.

"You left, you left, you swore, we swore Jamie." He choked over the age old nickname. "You were all I had left. And now, now I am going to be left alone to raise your son? DO I LOOK LIKE A GOOD FATHER FIGURE TO YOU? WHAT IN MERLIN"S NAME WERE YOU THINKING?" he gripped his hands in his hair, dirt spilling down his face, in a motion that was so ingrained in him from being around James that it brought him to a halt.

"You are so much like him." Remus' voice said from behind him.

Sirius didn't look up. He continued to stare at the white marble that was inches from his face. His breathing was ragged and his throat was burning from inhaling the cold air in gulps.

"I know you don't see it, but you are. You act so much alike. Sometimes it was hard to see where James ended and where Sirius began. I don't know why I didn't see it, I wish I did. I don't know how James didn't see it. Sirius I can never, never make up for believing you would do this. I can never fix the fact that I didn't listen or see what was right in front of me. And an apology just doesn't seem good enough."

"He is really gone. He isn't going to come back. He really isn't coming back." Sirius said in disbelief.

"No, he isn't."

"I have been waiting, ever since that night for him to walk in and tell me that it was all a stupid, albeit well played, prank. Waiting so I could pummel the shit out of him for pulling this…But it isn't a prank is it? It is completely real. He isn't coming back. This isn't a nightmare is it? It is real, completely and cruelly real." Even in his own ears, his voice sounded as dead as his best mate.

"It is real. I wish I could tell you it wasn't, I am sorry I can't." Remus' voice sounded as hollow as his own, he could hear the unshed tears lurking beneath the surface.

"How am I going to do this? I'm not James and Merlin knows I'm not Lils, we all know it was her that really took care of Harry, Jamie was just for playing with. What am I going to do?"

He felt Remus sit on the ground beside him, this was the amazing thing about being a marauder, one minute you could be screaming at one another, and the next you were fine, you were brothers again.

"You are going to be yourself, you don't have to be James, and no one could ever be Lily. No one expects you to be Pads, we just expect you to be yourself. Harry loves you, he already adores his Godfather. You will both be fine. I know you will be." He assured, lifting some of the loose dirt and letting it pour from his fingers.

"You'll help?" the plea was blatant in his voice.

Remus nodded, his sandy hair flipping as he did so. "Of course I will. I would never abandon Harry. Never. And I will not ever do it to you again either."

"We need to get back to France, I pick up Harry tomorrow."

"We still have to get groceries and nappies, and I think we forgot to buy pyjamas as well."

"Damn it, I am going to be flat broke by the time he goes into Hogwarts, aren't I?" he joked.

Remus chuckled as they both stood and wiped their hands off on their jeans. "I believe you are. I guess we should be glad that you are the heir to one of the largest family vaults in the wizarding world."

"Looks like the name of Black is good for something after all." Sirius mumbled, wiping the dirt from his face.

"Who knew?" Remus jested.

"Certainly not me, I never thought I'd be happy to say I was heir to the Black fortune."

Remus smiled at his friend. "Well thankfully, you are, so you don't have to worry about it. Besides, if you weren't Sirius Black, you probably would be going broke."

Sirius nodded earnestly, "I guess it is a good thing that James was James Potter."

Remus nodded and glanced back, as he began to walk away.

Sirius picked up the dropped box of photos, stacking them back in neatly but refusing to look at them. He took a few steps from the fresh grave before looking back once more. He whispered, barely even loud enough for Remus to hear, "Bye Lils. Bye Jamie."


	6. Chapter 6: Remember Me

**_Thank you for all the reviews and pm's_**

**_And for liking and alerting this story._**

**_Here is a rather eagerly awaited chapter _**

**_I am not JKR and I get nothing for writing this, well no money at least._**

Chapter Six

**Remember Me**

He knew he heard the knock on the door but it sounded like he had been hearing it under water. It sounded so far away. He felt the gentle squeeze of his old headmaster's hand on his shoulder and somewhere registered that the door had opened. It wasn't until he saw the vaguely familiar face of Petunia Dursley that he was shaken from his nervous reverie…He needed to get that checked, he had been spacing out quite often as of late. He was sure that he couldn't do that with the hyper, into everything child that Harry was.

Melanie held out her hand, it went ignored. "Mrs. Dursley, how wonderful to meet you I am-"

"You are here to pick up the boy." Petunia interrupted, hurrying them in.

He could have been kind and said she was getting them out of the cold, but that was a lie, he knew how she felt about Lily and James, he knew she was trying to hide them from sight.

"I am here to get Harry." Sirius spoke up, none too kindly.

"He is down for a nap, come with me you can get him up." She said briskly.

Sirius glanced at Dumbledore who nodded and gave him a gentle push to follow her. She led him to a cupboard under the stairs and opened the door.

"Oh, are we gathering his things first?" Sirius asked, confused.

"No, you are gathering him. He has no things, he only came with the blanket he has on him." She said, sneering into the cupboard.

Sirius stepped forward and was appalled at the sight that met his eyes. In the small space of the cupboard was a rickety wooden playpen, inside, with only the blanket Sirius had wrapped him in the night that he had found him in the house, was Harry. He was sitting in the corner sucking on his thumb, something Sirius had never seen him do. He turned to face Petunia.

"You keep him in a playpen in the closet? He is a one year old baby!" he said outraged.

He looked back at Melanie and Dumbledore, glaring at Dumbledore.

"He is a freak and I won't have him bothering my son or his things. He doesn't stay in there the entire day. I don't see how it matters as he won't be here ever again. Just take him now. And do not come back." She spat.

Sirius felt his blood boil.

"Sirius, take Harry." Melanie said in a whisper quiet voice.

He bit his tongue and reached into the pen, Harry visibly flinched and gripped the blanket. Sirius pulled his hands back and held the rails, bending a bit so he was peering at him through the bars…this felt reminiscent of his first two weeks after the attack oddly enough.

"Come on little bit, surely you remember me? It's me, uncle Siri. You know me." He said soothingly.

The dark headed baby just looked up at him, fear evident in his striking green eyes.

"He-He's scared of me." Sirius stammered. He couldn't understand it. Harry was never scared, never, and especially not of him.

"He will be fine." Petunia said, pushing past him and jerking Harry from his corner, leaving the blanket lying in the floor of the pen. She thrust him towards Sirius who took him instantly.

Normally Harry would have sat comfortably on Sirius' hip, or wrapped his arms around his neck to be cuddled against him, but right now he was rigid in his Godfather's arms. He was like holding a board, a silent, shaking board. Sirius looked into the face of the boy that so reminded him of James, he saw the tears spill from Lily's emerald eyes and felt his own sting in response. Gipping the toddler tightly he bent and grabbed Lily's blanket and turned towards the door. He only stopped for a moment to turn back towards Petunia.

"For your sake, you had better hope I never lay eyes on you again." He said, rage lacing his voice.

"I think we ought to leave." Melanie said giving Sirius' back a push, forcing him from the house.

He walked forward, struggling to wrap the blanket around the scared toddler, he needed to shield him from the bitter winter wind, that much he remembered from his lessons with Lily. He looked around himself and saw the five aurors, all dressed as muggles, two pushing what appeared to be a pram down the walk, One sitting on a bench, and two talking at the street corner. He recognized them all. He assumed it was Moody's idea to send aurors that he knew Sirius would trust. They made their way to an alleyway when they stopped. Harry was still fairly stiff in his arms but he had relaxed some, making it easier to hold him.

"Alright Sirius, Albus, this is where you two go on. I will see you in a few weeks, Remus is going to bring me in to check on Harry, it is protocol after all just to see that he is settling in alright." Melanie said kindly.

Sirius nodded as he tried to adjust Harry for apparition.

"All right little bit, are you ready? Do you remember how to go vroom?" he asked, remembering how he and James would apparate with Harry all over the house simply to see the stunned look on his face, or the exasperated one on Lily's.

Harry just looked at him stoic, no response at all. Sirius sighed heavily, what had they done to his hyper, happy godson in a little over a month's time? He looked at Dumbledore.

"Let's take him home, he may respond better there." The old wizard said gently.

Sirius scowled, had they not sent Harry here in the first place, this wouldn't be an issue at all. Even right after the attack Harry had clung to Sirius, he had craved the closeness, now he seemed scared of it.

"Sirius, let's take him home."

Sirius nodded and looked down at the jet black hair. "Right, home. Hold on tight Harry, we are going home."

0o0o0o0o

They arrived about a half mile out from the house, it was the closest you could apparate to it. Dumbledore walked close beside him, both of them walking in silence, only the crunching of the dead leaves beneath their feet. As they walked he felt Harry's head swivel around, trying to see what was around him. The first response at all, other than fear, that Sirius had him show.

"Look Harry, this is your new home. You are going to live here with me now. When it warms up we are going to take walks out here, and play at the river bed. You will love it, I know it. And you have toys inside. Just for you." Sirius rambled, trying to get through somehow. If Harry knew any word at all it was toys.

When they reached the property edge Dumbledore stopped.

"I am going to leave you here Sirius. I have some unfinished business back in Surry and I think that you and Harry would do better to settle in together without me as company. I know you will do fine. He will get better. Give him time. It takes time to heal any wound, just time and love. And you have plenty of both."

Sirius' eyes narrowed but in effort to keep Harry calm he just nodded and walked onto their property. He could feel the safety net of the wards press upon him. It was secure, he knew it. Harry tensed slightly at the feel of the magic, it almost made your skin tingle for a minute, but he would get used to it in seconds.

"You feel that? That means you are safe now. No one will ever hurt you again." Sirius said as they walked into the house.

He sat him down on the hardwood floor in the sitting room, Harry stood on his bare feet, looking around himself. Sirius unwrapped the blanket from his little body as Remus came through from upstairs.

"I didn't hear you get here!" he said, rushing over. Again Harry jerked back at the movement. Remus stopped and looked down at the normally exuberant toddler and then at Sirius. "What is he wearing? And what happened to him?"

"Well I think it is safe to say that the Dursley's happened to him and he appears to be in a romper- thing- well it is clothing that is for sure but it is about four sizes too big." Sirius growled.

Remus' eyes pulled together slightly before kneeling in front of the child that he knew so well.

"Hey squirt. I have missed you." He said softly. Harry didn't move, he only looked at Remus warily and then back up to Sirius.

Sirius sat down, crosslegged on the floor to Harry's side. "Come on Harry. You know us. You see us all the time. Uncle Siri and Uncle Remmy, I know you remember." Harry sat down too but made no other inclination that he knew either of the men he was with. "Look you know him, remember, Moo Moo, that's Moo Moo remember?" Sirius tried again, using the name that Harry had bestowed upon Remus when he tried to teach him to say Mooney.

"Thanks for that." Remus drawled. "Make me sound like a cow." He muttered. Sirius laughed in response, to which Harry looked up quickly, his eyes wide. "Harry remember, Siri goes woof woof? Sirius, I know, go Padfoot." Remus demanded.

"What?" Sirius said, flustered.

"You play with him as Padfoot all the time, he will remember it. He loves it when you and James go animagus. His first word was woof woof for Merlin's sake."

"But-But-I don't think I can do that." Sirius stammered, thinking of all the times he had transformed with James.

"For Harry you can. Come on Sirius, just transform."

Shaking off the tremors and the memories that plagued him, Sirius shimmered down into the hulking black dog. Harry's eyes were round as saucers. Sirius stood and shook, wagging his tail as he did so. He yelped playfully and bounced in front of Harry.

"See Harry, woof woof. Do you remember? I know you do." Remus urged, reaching out a hand and patting the silky black head of the dog.

Harry took a timid step forward and gripped the fur at Padfoot's neck. Sirius, excited, licked the rosy cheek of his godson. Harry scrunched his nose, making Remus burst into laughter. Harry dropped his hand in surprise and Sirius shifted back.

He smiled brightly, "See you know me. Uncle Siri, you are safe little boy, I promise, no one will ever take you away or hurt you again." Sirius said as he scooped Harry into his arms. It may have been his imagination but he didn't stiffen or flinch this time around. He just sat very still, his arms crossed in front of him. "What do you say we go up to your room and get some clothes that fit you and put you in the bath?"

Harry, of course, just looked at him like he was crazy but Remus nodded in agreement and walked ahead of him, pushing open the door to Harry's room. Sirius followed him in and sat Harry up on the changing station and began to strip him of the overly large clothing. He frowned at the yellowed nappy that was pinned around his waist.

"How many nappies have you changed?" He asked, as Remus searched through the drawers for an appropriate outfit.

"Maybe three, only when I watched him for them when he was a few months old. I made a point to hand him off when he needed changing." Remus shrugged.

Sirius sighed. "How is it that I am the one with more experience in this arena?" he asked Harry, who just looked at him and plopped his thumb back into his mouth.

"When did he start that?" Remus asked, eyebrows raised.

"Not before the attack, I saw him just a week before, he wasn't doing it then. Come to think of it he didn't do it that night either. Alright Harry, now you may remember, I am not the greatest at getting these things on tight, no judgments alright?"

"Why don't you get him in the bath and then worry about a clean nappy?"

"See Harry this is why we keep him around, he is a genius." Sirius said as he lifted the, now naked, little boy back into his arms and carried him to the bathroom.

0o0o0o0o

I know that Harry didn't make all that mess, he is barely moving." Remus said, astonished at the amount of water and bath toys on the floor.

"I don't know what happened. I was never allowed to give him a bath. Well at least not after that time he and I flooded the bathroom."

"I can see why." Remus said, not withholding the laugh as Sirius handed him the wet child. "Are you ready to get dressed squirt? Come on, we will let Uncle Sirius clean up his mess."

"That means you get to do the nappy!" Sirius called out.

"Yeah, but the new one is clean, I have no problem touching a clean one." Remus called back with a chuckle as Sirius grumbled.

Sirius found them downstairs with Harry sitting in the wooden highchair at the table. "What does he like to eat?" Remus asked, looking in the cupboard, having heard Sirius come up behind them. He hadn't spent near as much time with the child as Sirius had, with having a muggle job and running covert missions for the order he had been gone a lot over the last several months.

"Chocolate biscuits." Sirius replied with certainty.

"He can't have chocolate biscuits for lunch." Remus said, shaking his head.

"Er…Lily gives him all sorts of stuff. I know he eats fish and chips." He said with a shrug as he sat down beside of Harry.

"You like fish, don't you? You steal mine when I eat with you."

It didn't take Remus long to make the fish and chips using magic and he placed the platters on the table before pulling out a small serving for Harry and setting a cooling charm to it. Sirius tore it into pieces and sat it on the tray of the high chair.

"There you go little bit. Somehow you look smaller than you did last I saw you." He said with a frown. Harry looked down at the food on his tray but made no move to touch it. "How do we make him eat?"

"I don't think we do." Remus said watching the boy look at the food.

"We can't let him starve."

"I am sure that this is a huge adjustment, I mean, first James and Lily and then he got sent to those muggles, he is really confused. I am sure that the attack alone was scary enough for a baby to bother him. He will eat when he is hungry."

"Look at him, I know he is smaller than he used to be, that is the same size clothes as he was before and they are big on him." Sirius argued. "Let's just give him chocolate biscuits, he will eat those. I know it."

Remus shook his head, "We can't let him live off chocolate biscuits and if we give them to him now then he will never eat normal food again."

"He is going to starve to death." Sirius said morosely.

"Just eat your lunch, if he sees you eat maybe he will eat too." Remus said with a sigh.

The rest of that day passed in much the same manner. Harry never ate. Though he did hold the spill proof child's cup, and by the end of the afternoon all of the milk was gone, though Remus, nor Sirius, could recall seeing him drink from it. He remained silent the entire day, and spent most of it sitting on the sofa or floor with one uncle or the other trying to entice him with toys to no avail. At one point Sirius, frustrated, even offered his wand, in the seconds before Remus noticed and put a stop to it, it didn't work anyways.

That evening Sirius was putting a clean nappy on him and zipping him into his new footed pyjamas. He smiled at the dinosaurs that patterned the green fleece material.

"You know Christmas will be here in just a fortnight, I don't know what in the world to get you, I think we already bought you half of diagon alley by now. Do you think you are ready for a regulation quidditch pitch? No? Well I am sure I will think of something."

He lifted Harry into his arms, as the evening wore on, though Harry remained quite impassive he had allowed both Sirius and Remus to lift him and hold him as he had before. He even sat in their laps in turn, once they had given up on the toy bribery, and watched the telly, or at least stared at it. It was some progress at least. Harry was looking around the room as Sirius threw the soiled nappy into to bin and turned to carry him out when his eyes grew round and to Sirius' utter shock he began to cry in earnest.

"What-I don't-Shhhhh." He said bouncing him in his arms as he had done time and time again.

Harry continued to cry. Remus came through the door, looking alarmed. "What happened?"

"I don't know, he hasn't made a sound all day, he just, started screaming." Sirius said, panicked, Harry seemed to be trying to climb over his shoulder.

Remus looked intently at him, and quickly saw what he was after, he grabbed the lion off the toddler bed and brought it to Harry who pulled it into his arms instantly, his cries quieted and Sirius started to breathe again.

"Was that it? You just wanted Godric? Well you could have told me that." Sirius said gently as he sat down in the rocker with Harry and the lion folded into his lap.

"Look at what he is doing." Remus said quietly, gesturing at Harry.

Sirius glanced down, the still well worn tail of the refurbished plush toy was being worried between Harry's fingers, while his left thumb was back in place in his mouth.

"He remembered him." Remus said with a smile.

"He remembers us too I think." Sirius said, nuzzling his face into Harry's hair, it was hard to fathom how much he had missed him. "He is just scared is all. You remember us don't you? What if I tell you a goodnight story, one about Uncle Mooney and the time that he knocked Marleen McKinnon down the great hall steps when he asked her out in sixth year?"

"I hardly think that is an appropriate bedtime story." Remus huffed and rolled his eyes.

Sirius laughed quietly, "Alright, so your uncle was really really bad with girls…."


	7. Chapter 7: Plans Change

**_You can thank all the writers that I am following for these updates…_**

**_I have nothing to read :(_**

**_So I am writing instead._**

**_This isn't very long it is a transition of sorts_**

**_I am not JKR, though you all know this already. _**

Chapter Seven

**Plans Change**

Sirius sat up out of bed like water had been thrown upon him but he couldn't figure out what had woken him. He sat still for a moment before hearing soft sniffles, Harry, of course, it was Harry. Thanking Merlin for the innumerable overnight pranks that James used to play, rendering Sirius into a light sleeper, he walked to the play pen that was stationed in the corner of his room beside a small nightlight.

"Hey little bit, it is awfully late for you to be awake." He said softly as he reached down to pick Harry up.

He fought back a curse as his whole body clenched and his eyes widened in fear, the soft glow of light shimmering off of the tears in his eyes and the tracks on his face. Ignoring the initial reaction of fear Sirius gently lifted him into his arms and pulled him close to his chest, noticing that Harry's hand had a firm grip on Godric as he did so.

"You know if I ever get my hands on that so called aunt and uncle of yours I am going to rip their bloody heads off their sodding bodies." He said in the sweetest most soothing voice he could. "And I am trusting that you won't repeat those words."

Harry just blinked up at him. He looked over at the clock on the dresser, the red numbers illuminating that it was only 2 in the morning.

"What do you say you come lay with me for a while? It is entirely too early to be up quite yet." He sat on his bed and placed Harry beside him.

Harry sat in the center of the bed and looked up at Sirius, obviously confused. Sirius laughed quietly at the expression on the toddler's face. He pulled him into a hug and lay down with him still folded into his arms. Harry wiggled slightly but Sirius was happy to say he didn't wiggle away but farther into Sirius' chest. Sirius placed his hand in the messy black hair and began to brush it from his face, letting his fingers trail gently over his forehead, like he had watched James do so many times, he felt Harry's breathing deepen and his little body relax in his arms. His finger ran over the lighting shaped puckered scar and kissed Harry's head before humming the first melody that popped into his head, which happened to be the one that James' mum used to hum while puttering about the house. He had never realized until this last month how wrapped up his life was in in James'.

He felt something wet trail down his chest suddenly and looked down, smiling when he noticed Harry's thumb had fallen from his mouth and it was resting on Sirius' bare chest, leaving a gooey, wet slobber trail in its wake. Feeling the calm that Harry exuded while sleeping, Sirius felt his own eyes get heavy and not for the first time fell asleep with him held tightly in his arms.

0o0o0o

A tapping on his chest woke him. He opened his eyes and found a pair of startling green ones inches from his face. He leaned back into his pillow, trying to shake himself awake so he could focus on what he was looking at. Another tap made him smile.

"Good morning little bit. How are you this…Harry James Potter it is only 6 AM!" Sirius whined as he looked over at the clock. "We have only been back to sleep for four hours. Come on, lay back down." He said, putting his head back on the pillow and closing his eyes.

"Siwi." Said a small voice, completely waking Sirius up.

"That's right! I am Siri. That's my name, you said my name!" He said excitedly. "Are you hungry?" He watched Harry look down at his hands, his lip pouted out. "Right, well, if I am awake, I am hungry, and I know a little boy who likes bangers and eggs an awful lot." He sat up and lifted the pyjama clad baby into his arms, "Perhaps we should change that nappy first." He said, holding Harry away from him gingerly. "You are terribly squishy."

0o0o0o

"Here you go Godric, have some bangers." Sirius said, pulling the lion from Harry's hands and squishing him against the table with a chair. The lion's head appeared just over the table ledge in the space beside Harry's highchair. He sat a small plate in front of the toy and placed some cut up pieces on the tray in front of Harry.

"Aren't you going to show Godric how to eat?" he asked taking the seat on the other side of Harry. Harry looked over at the lion and then at Sirius. "Godric, do you like bangers and eggs?"

"Please tell me you aren't hoping for the toy to answer you." Remus said from the entrance to the kitchen.

"Of course he will. Harry is teaching Godric how to eat breakfast, aren't you Harry?" Harry looked at Sirius and then at Remus his eyebrows raised comically. "Come on Uncle Remus. Help us teach Godric how to eat breakfast." Sirius said, his voice full of meaning.

Remus shrugged, made himself a plate and sat across from Harry.

"How did he do last night?"

"He slept great, once he got in bed with me. Apparently playpens are not comfy. Are they Harry?"

"Siwi." Harry said in response.

Remus glanced at Sirius and then smiled at the tousle headed toddler.

"You slept with Uncle Sirius?"

"Siwi." Harry replied again before picking up a chunk of egg and mashing it into his mouth.

Remus smiled again and began to eat his breakfast, he wasn't sure which made him happier, Harry actually responding and eating, or the grin on Sirius' face. For the first time in weeks he looked truly happy.

"I have to go back to London today." He said, reaching over and wiping the egg off Harry's face.

"Already? He just got here yesterday." Sirius protested.

"But I took leave from the school the day after the attack, I have been gone a month and a half, I am officially out of leave. I can't lose my job, and I enjoy teaching."

"You like teaching the muggle kids?" Sirius asked, sitting back down after filling the beaker with juice and handing it to Harry, who was steadily eating, glancing at Godric every few minutes. "Harry look at Uncle Remus being silly." He said.

Harry turned and looked at Remus, his head tilted. Remus was confused until Sirius reached and grabbed the banger off of the plate in front of the still ragged lion and stuffed it into his mouth quickly.

Catching on Remus made a silly face, making Harry grin slightly, "So where did this idea come from?" he asked.

Sirius shrugged. "Andy, this is how she got Dora to eat, she went through this phase at like three where she wouldn't eat at all unless her dolls ate first." He said thickly through the stolen food in his mouth.

"While this was a great idea, let's not have you teaching him table manners." Remus said with a grin. "And, in answer to your question, Harry look at uncle Siri, he is so funny."

Harry's head spun towards Sirius, who poked his tongue out showing all of the chewed food in his mouth. Harry actually giggled, Remus pulled a disgusted face as he stuffed the lion's eggs into his mouth.

He chewed quickly and finished his sentence. "That was completely unnecessary. And I like teaching, it doesn't matter if they are muggle kids or not, it isn't like it is anything big, I am teaching an extra reading class." He said with a shrug. "It pays the bills, not all of us are the sole heir to the massive Black dynasty. Not everyone can be a spoilt little rich kid." He joked. They had teased James and Sirius mercilessly for as long as Remus could remember over being heirs to a pureblood fortune.

"When will you be back?"

"I really need to be there for at least three days, I haven't been to the flat since Peter's trial. I need to go home for a bit, and I think it would do you both good to settle in together."

"You want to leave me alone with him?"

"You were alone with him all night and this morning. You have been alone with him several times since he was born. For Merlin's sake, even Lily trusted you, well except with baths. You are fine, you will be fine, and if it comes down to it all you have to do is make a fire call and I will come over. Or call your cousin. I am certain she will have great advice."

Sirius nodded, he hadn't thought about calling Andromeda. They finished breakfast and Remus lifted Harry from his highchair.

"I have to go bye-bye for a bit, but I'll be back alright." He said, kissing him on the head.

"Bye?" Harry said softly.

"Yes, I have to go bye-bye."

Harry's eyes suddenly filled with tears and his lip trembled, he reached for Sirius, who took him, looking down at the sniffling child, confused.

"Uncle Remus will come back. We will play until he comes back. It will only be a few days, you will have fun, I promise."

"Mummmeeee go bye." Harry said quietly. Sirius felt like he had been punched in the gut. He looked up at Remus, who looked like he had been.

"Yes Harry, your Mummy went bye." Remus replied, running his hands through the soft black hair.

Mummmeee bye, Moo Moo bye." He said, his bottom lip poked out, and a few tears escaped his eyes.

"I don't think you should leave, at least not right now. He doesn't understand." Sirius said softly, while patting Harry's back.

"I have to go to the school, I don't have a way around it, and I can't live here Sirius, we told them at the hearing that I wouldn't. We can't have them taking him away because you live with a werewolf." Remus said logically as he followed Sirius into the sitting room and sat down.

"What if you just stay at the flat two days a week?"

"I have the most classes on Monday and Tuesday, I can stay at the flat on Monday night and Tuesday night and come back after classes on Wednesday. But it will be late on Wednesdays, I won't be here until after seven. I don't have sessions Friday at all so that means I only have to apparate in on Thursdays. But I have to work." He said firmly. "And then you know, full moons, four days before or after. There is no way around that."

"Right, which is in what, a week?"

Remus nodded and glanced at Harry whose head was on Sirius' shoulder.

"I'll come back this week since I won't be able to be here after Wednesday night, the moon is Sunday and then I will be back next Thursday. I can get everything caught up at the flat then. That gives us three days to get him used to me leaving and coming back."

Sirius nodded his head, and continued to rub circles over Harry's shoulder blades soothingly. "Christmas is the week after that. Jamie was the one that was big on the holiday." He said miserably.

Remus looked at Harry. "We need to do something. He can't think that Father Christmas forgot him."

Sirius nodded, "I will call Andy while you are gone, she can help me decorate and maybe watch him while I go shopping for a bit."

"I'll pick some stuff up while I am gone too." Remus agreed.

"Alright, well go on so you aren't late. I will handle him." Sirius said doubtfully.

"I didn't expect this complication." Remus said honestly, his gray eyes looking sadly at the little boy who was now twirling a piece of Sirius' hair like he did Godric's tail.

"I think he is going to throw a lot of curved quaffles our way." Sirius replied, standing with Harry in his arms. "Okay, tell Uncle Remus bye, he has to go to work."

Harry pushed his face into Sirius' chest and refused to look at Remus. He patted his back softly.

"I will come back tonight little cub." He said softly, looking sympathetically at Sirius who turned and started up the stairs.

"Come on, we can put on some new clothes and find something fun to get into, we have all sorts of new toys to break in."

Remus just caught the sight of Harry's glistening green eyes peering over Sirius' shoulder before he walked from the house.


	8. Chapter 8: Credit Where Credit Is Due

**_Thank you for all reviews!_**

**_You will be getting roughly a chapter a day._**

**_I am trying to finish off ATSR so I won't be doing double chapters here for a few days._**

**_I am not JKR_**

Chapter Eight

**Credit Where Credit Is Due**

Sirius climbed the stairs and walked into the Gryffindor themed room. He sat Harry on his feet in the center of the room and went to the chest.

"Alright Harry, what would you like to wear today? I have a blue romper with a dragon, jeans and a jumper, or this fuzzy bear thing that Uncle Remus bought?" he turned and looked at the boy, who had found his crayons and was eating one. "No, don't eat that. Honestly. Well at least you are moving about now. Alright let's go with dragons." He said as he pulled the red crayon from the vice like grip.

"No?" Harry repeated.

"That's right, no. We can't eat crayons."

Harry looked completely confused, Sirius thought back and was fairly certain this was the first time he had ever told the child no. Harry didn't seem to understand the concept coming from Sirius' mouth.

"Mummeee bye, Moo Moo bye. All gone." Harry replied, holding his hand up in the air and looking around himself like he was lost.

"Effing hell I should have just let you eat the sodding crayon." Sirius muttered. "Come on, let's change your clothes, you can't wear pyjamas all day. We will get dressed and play and then Uncle Remus will come home and play with us." He said, lifting him and beginning to strip him of his greasy jammies. "How does one manage to get so messy eating bangers and eggs? I wouldn't have thought it to be a messy meal. Look it is even in your hair. I think you are going to need another bath kid."

"Baf." Harry parroted.

Sirius smiled. He was glad to see him talking, even if he was only being repetitive and unemotional for the most part. The Harry he remembered was a chatterbox, he babbled consistently and was overly animated. He wondered how long until he became that child again, or even if he ever would.

"Do you think we can keep from flooding the floor today?" he asked as he held out his hand and led him into the bathroom.

"No." Harry replied, as if he had intentionally answered the question.

Sirius burst into true laughter. "You are probably right."

As it turned out, Harry was right, when they left the bathroom Harry, the floor and Sirius were dripping wet and Sirius had forgotten a towel, he was slipping and sliding across the wood floor, trying to hold an extremely slippery one year old.

"You know, you should have come with an instruction manual." Sirius said as he searched his pockets with his free hand for his wand. "Bollocks, it's in the lock box in the kitchen." He grumbled.

So much for using it to dry up the floor, he thought. He grabbed a towel from the linen cupboard, covered Harry's back to keep him warm and hurried back to the changing station, though not before Harry wet his godfather's undershirt even more.

"Ack!" he yelled, causing Harry to burst into tears and flinch, trying to pull away. "Shit, I'm sorry baby, come here, I didn't mean to yell." He said, trying to soothe the hysterical child.

He could never remember Harry going hysterical from yelling or loud sounds, honestly, if he came face to face with those muggles he was going to be put into Azkaban for muggle torture. Harry remained distressed, which made it all the harder to pin a nappy on him as he was trying to curl away from Sirius.

"Shhhh….Please baby boy, shhhhh." He said, trying not to show how the tears were upsetting him.

Before dressing him, Sirius pulled his shirt off and threw it into the hall. He buttoned Harry into the one piece outfit and carried him into his room so he could change. He sat the whimpering boy in the play pen where he instantly fell silent. Sirius looked into the stricken face as Harry sat down into the back corner and popped his thumb into his mouth.

"Damn it, back to square one." He muttered as he quickly pulled out a pair of jogging pants and a long sleeved cotton shirt. "What do you say we go for a walk? I know your Uncle Remus made me buy some cold weather contraption to put you in. Come on, it will be fun." He said, picking Harry up from the play pen and attempting to smooth his unruly hair. "Hmmmm, you do have your daddy's hair." He said offhandedly. He stopped when he saw Harry's face fall.

"Daddy bye." He said softly.

Sirius sighed, he hoped it wouldn't always feel like this, like every mention of it was tearing out his heart. "Yes, your daddy went bye."

"Mummy bye." He said even quieter as they made their way down the stairs.

"Yes, mummy went bye with Daddy." Sirius affirmed.

"Moo Moo bye."

Sirius sat him on the counter in the scullery as he grabbed the thick jumpsuit and began to stuff Harry's legs and arms into it and then followed it with the littlest trainers he had ever seen and a hat. He handed him the stuffed lion he had grabbed off the still messy table.

"No, Uncle Remus went to work. He is coming home in a bit." He corrected and he stood him on his feet at the door before donning his leather jacket and holding out his hand. "No don't take the hat off." Sirius sighed, pushing the hat back over the silky messy hair.

"No! No! No!" Harry began to wail, throwing himself at Sirius' legs.

"What, what is wrong?" Sirius asked, frantically looking to make certain he hadn't zipped up his chin or something.

"No bye, No Bye, No bye Siri, no bye Siri." He cried.

Understanding setting in, he picked him up and carried him through the door into the side garden, Harry thrashed in his arms trying to get back into the house.

"Harry shhhhh, look you are coming with me. We are going to walk, just walk, me and you. I am not going bye, me and you little bit, going for a walk. No bye bye. Harry and Uncle Sirius are going for a walk." He said in a calm voice, knowing that if he showed any exasperation or heightened emotions that it would only make the situation worse.

He walked in the direction of the town. It was only a ten minute walk to reach the populated areas. As they walked Harry quieted and began to look around, though he was still sucking his thumb and the tear tracks could be seen on his face, he was gripping Godric for all he was worth. They continued walking until they reached the shops and Sirius allowed Harry to walk while holding his hand. He couldn't stop the chuckle at the waddle the cold weather suit caused Harry to have.

"No bye." Harry said fervently, seemingly to himself but out loud none the less.

"He sure is a cutie." A feminine voice said.

Sirius turned to the side to be face to face with a stunningly pretty blonde. She was holding the hand of a little girl who looked to be a year or so older than Harry.

"Thank you." Sirius said genuinely.

"You are English?" she asked.

Sirius picked Harry up and adjusted him onto his hip. "We are, we just moved here."

"I heard him talk, there are several people who speak English but few who actually are. He really is adorable, his eyes are amazing, you are going to have your hands full in a few years with that one, daddy." She said with a smile.

"Oh, well, he is actually my godson, but yes, I believe he is going to be quite the troublemaker in the future." He said with a smile, he had never flirted with a mum before, who knew Harry could be such a good accomplice.

"Well you are a good Godfather for watching him. He does look like he could be yours though. Are you bringing him to story hour for his mum and dad?"

"Er story hour?" he asked thickly.

"At the library, story hour is in roughly 15 minutes, they read a book to the children and to a puppet show, the little ones love it."

"I didn't know they did something like that." He said honestly.

She smiled warmly, "Well you are welcome to join Sammi and I if you like, I'm Jessalyn." She said, holding out her spare hand.

"Sirius, and this is Harry. It is good to meet you." He replied, "We would be happy to join you."

"They read the story in French." She said with a slight frown as they began to walk.

"Eh, I don't think he will care either way."

"Do you watch him a lot? Or is this a onetime kind of thing?"

"Oh, well, actually. It is hard to explain, I- well- I have custody of him." He stammered, damn he should have just told her that he was his kid, it was just so natural to say that he was his godson he didn't even think about it.

"Oh." She said, obviously surprised.

"His parents, they uhm, well, they, just recently, there was a break in of sorts…Well, I guess he is mine now you could say." He finished lamely as they came upon an old stone building with enormous steps.

"DOWN!" Harry insisted.

Sirius obliged and sat him on his feet where he began to climb the steps one at a time, Sirius smiled when the little girl called Sammi took Harry's hand and walked beside him.

"Now that, has to be the cutest thing I have ever seen." Sirius said, smiling, wishing James could see his 17 month old picking up girls.

"It really is. I am sorry for your loss, both of your losses I should say."

He looked down at his hands before looking back up into her brown eyes. "Thank you." He said simply, there really wasn't anything else he could say.

Hours later found them sitting in the floor of the sitting room, the rubberized dragon figures flying low to the ground and Harry randomly grabbing one and chewing on it. Sirius turned towards the sound of the front door opening, knowing that it could be no one but Remus.

"Hey." He called.

Remus came through and smiled at the look of astonishment on Harry's face when he saw him. "Hey squirt." He said as he lifted him into his arms. "How was your day today?"

"No." Harry chanted in a singsong voice.

"That good huh?" Remus snickered as Sirius laughed.

"That actually sums it up quite well." He said as he laid his head back onto the seat of the sofa.

"It looks like you set off a box of fireworks in here, what happened?" Remus asked as he looked around at the chaos that was the house.

He could see into the dining room where the breakfast mess still sat from this morning, and a few more dishes which he assumed were from lunch or snacks. There were toys scattered across the sitting room and crayons strewn with the toy dragons across the floor.

"I might as well have. Harry is like a whole box of fireworks himself and he isn't nearly as active as he used to be." Sirius said. "I have to give Jamie credit, Harry, he's not easy."

Remus stifled a laugh as he sat Harry back onto the floor into the fray of flying dragons.

"Yeah well James had something that we don't." he said with a grin.

"Time to get used to him?" Sirius said with only one eye open, "A regular nap schedule? Instructions on how to wiz while holding a squirming child?"

At this Remus did laugh. "No, he had Lily."

"Too right. We need to find us one of those." He mumbled. "Let me just get up and if you will occupy the monster I will clean up the kitchen and figure out dinner."

"Of course. Erm, is there a reason why his teeth are purple?" Remus asked slowly.

Sirius' eyes popped open and he fought Harry's hand open pulling a mauled purple mass from it. "No, you cannot eat crayons." He said in exasperation as Harry quickly stuffed the red crayon from the other hand into his mouth. "Noooo! No more crayons for you." He cried, prying Harry's mouth open and pulling the crayon from within.

Harry looked up and smiled at Remus, showing off his colorful smile. He shook his head and cocked it to the side and said, in a clear, concise voice, "No."


	9. Chapter 9:When Mooney's Away, Padfoot

Chapter Nine

**When Mooney's Away Padfoot Will Play.**

Sirius was lying on the sofa, watching a show on the Telly, ever thankful that Remus had figured out how to make it speak English when the fire started flashing purple, a sign that someone was waiting to me granted access. He glanced down at the sleeping child on his chest, he had only been asleep for twenty minutes or so, he hated to wake him up, but Remus wasn't back from the moon phase yet. He sighed and stood, gently laying Harry on the sofa praying that he would stay asleep.

He put his head in the fire to see Melanie smiling back at him. He smiled and pulled away before waving his wand to allow her to pass through. She came through seconds later, brushing the soot from her jeans and shirt. Her eyes fell on the sleeping child so she whispered her greeting.

"I thought Remmy was bringing you through in another week or so." He said, glancing around at the toys that littered the sitting room.

"This is not official, by any means, and if it was, the least of my worries it the devastation that a one and a half year old can inflict on a house." She giggled.

He smiled in relief. "Have a seat, would you like some tea or anything? Remus likes coffee, French thing I guess. But I have that too."

"Tea would be lovely." She replied as she sat in an overstuffed leather armchair.

Sirius glanced nervously at Harry.

"I won't let him roll off, I promise." She said. He chewed his lip in response. "I won't steal him either." She said with a smile.

He sighed and left the room to gather the tea, returning faster than she had expected with a tray laden with tea, crumpets, biscuits and a beaker cup of what appeared to be milk for Harry, who was still sleeping away.

"He seems content." She said nodding towards Harry.

"He is getting there, he is talking a bit more, and he will play some now. He still just sits and stares off sometimes, and we have yet to make him understand that when you leave you are going to come back. He is set on mummy bye, daddy bye, everybody bye. Though he didn't scream like a banshee when I took him from the house to go to story hour today." He replied.

"Sirius Black knows when story hour is?" she chuckled in disbelief.

"I do in fact, this was our second visit. We now know where the children's park is and the zoo, though it is too cold to go there, we have also found the bookstore and the library, and someone showed me the muggle gym. Kind of the muggle equivalence of the Auror training room. I am going to get Remus to watch him so I can go…If Harry will let me out of his sight that is. I don't think I have used the toilet alone since he got here, or slept alone. He goes with me everywhere, I have a new respect for mothers everywhere. A few mummies in town have taken us under their wing and showed us around the village."

"I just bet they have." She said with obvious amusement. "He is being rather clingy heh?"

"Yes, I am surprised he is even still asleep on the sofa. If we are in my bed he is in my arms, he naps on my chest. I went out and got this brilliant pram that you can run with…You would think it is biting him the way he acts if I sit him in it." He sighed as he readied his cup of tea.

"He's been through a lot. He has to be scared." She replied as she stirred cream into her tea.

"Speak of the wizard." He muttered as Harry started to stir and sat up.

Upon realizing that he was no longer in Sirius' arms he began to cry. Sirius sat his cup down and pulled him into his lap.

"I was right here mate, not far enough away to cause a panic." He said, tracing circles on Harry's little back.

"Siwi." Harry whimpered.

"Still right here." Sirius sighed. He looked up at Melanie with a painstaking look. "I went ahead and put all of the playpens in storage, he has a meltdown if you even put him near one. He did sit on his little bed in his room. Though it was only so he could mess up the blankets I think."

"You are probably right. Blankets are much better when they aren't tucked in neatly you know."

Harry suddenly seemed to realize that someone new was in his home and he sat up and turned to look at her before sticking his thumb in his mouth.

"He never sucked his thumb before. I tried to stop him but then he replaces it with a crayon so I just figured that the thumb is better."

"I don't think it will hurt him to suck his thumb, and it makes perfect sense, think about it, no one can take his thumb away like everything else did."

"I guess, but Lily would have a fit."

"I am sure if she were here it wouldn't even be a problem." She said with a sad smile.

"Oooooh." Harry suddenly said.

"You see the biscuits don't you." Sirius mused.

"Mmmm num, num biblahbiblah." He jabbered.

"Don't tell your uncle Remus." Sirius said, stealthily handing the toddler the gingersnap.

Melanie stayed for dinner with the pair and Sirius was quite happy to see Harry take to someone that wasn't himself. He even let her take him upstairs and change his nappy without Sirius present. More importantly, Sirius got to pee alone. Twice! They were both gathering the toys in the sitting room, while Harry pulled the ones they had already placed in the basket back out.

"Just leave em' he is just going to pull them right back out first thing in the morning." Sirius sighed, standing and pointing to the stairs. "Harry are you ready for a bath?"

"BAF!" Harry said, true excitement on his face.

Melanie laughed, "I think that was the most excited he was all day."

"I think he just likes to make a mess and get me all wet." Sirius said darkly.

"I am sorry I have to miss that." She said with a grin.

He laughed as he picked up the now bouncing toddler. "You are welcome to stay for bath time if you like, though I have to warn you, you will need your wand."

Her face broke into a true smile and she laughed, "I don't want to impose."

"No imposition at all, I would much rather see him get your shirt all wet than mine." Sirius teased, some of his flirtatious charm jumping back into him in the moment.

"I am sure." She chuckled. "What do you think Harry? Do you think your Uncle Sirius needs help giving you a bath?"

"BAF!" he shouted joyously, hitting Sirius about the head.

"I really shouldn't, what with being your caseworker and all." She said, looking at her hands.

"How long are you my caseworker for?"

"They will stop monitoring after the first 6 months, you will be on your own after that." She replied. "Though again, today wasn't official by any means, I just wanted to check on the pair of you. Call it a vested interest if you will."

"Well then, I guess Harry and I will take a rain check on the bath time and we will see you in a couple of weeks, officially that is."

She nodded and smiled at his nonchalance about it. Sirius always had such an easy way about him, it made you want to be around him. "I will floo myself out, you two have a good night, and don't forget your wand."

Sirius nodded and patted his back pocket, indicating that he had it on hand, as he walked up the stairs.

"Look at that Harry, you had her eating out of your hand." Your daddy would be so proud.

0o0o0o0o

"Ok, are you ready? You have to get the snitch. Get the snitch." Sirius said as he levitated the tennis ball.

Harry toddled after the ball, knocking furniture and toys aside as he ran for the ball, screaming and laughing the whole way. He had been levitating this ball for the last hour, and as far as he is concerned, as long as Harry was happy he wasn't worried about anything else. He looked around at the mess the sitting room was in, toys everywhere and random odds and ends thrown about. There was a blanket on the sofa where Harry had napped that day. He thought about walking down the park in town, it was around three, there would be some mum's there. He smiled, Harry had proven to be a great asset in getting women.

"Harry do you want to go outside for a walk today? We can go to the park."

"No, no bye." Harry said adamantly as he snatched the ball from the air after climbing on the coffee table.

'What if the snitch comes too?" he asked, motioning towards the yellow ball.

"No, no bye." Harry said simply.

"How about for a chocolate biscuit?" Sirius urged, laughing as Harry ran over, eyes alight.

"Go bye!"

"That's what I thought, come on kiddo, let's get your biscuit and go bye."

0o0o0o0o0o

Sirius walked back into the sitting room, looking around at all of the randomly colored boxes strewn about.

"This is a mess." He declared, looking over at his cousin who was artfully throwing tinsel on the tree she had stationed in front of the window.

Andromeda turned and smiled, her own dark hair falling in curls down her back.

"This is Christmas with a child." She replied, nodding towards Harry and Sirius' 9 year old second cousin who was currently helping Harry wrap himself in red ribbon.

"Hey little bit! Are we decorating you too?" He said with a laugh.

"Haweee present." He said with a big grin.

"Oh, you are a present." Sirius exclaimed.

He lifted the boy into his arms and pretended to weigh him, "this is an awfully heavy gift Dora what could you have gotten me? Hmmmm, it is heavy…and…" he lifted Harry and shook him all about, Harry cackling with glee as he did so. "It makes a really fun noise when you shake it…" he poked him in the belly several times, eliciting more giggles, "it seems to be squishy…Do you think it is ticklish Dora?" he asked, looking up at her, his face a perfect mock question.

Nymphadora shrugged her shoulders, her lime green hair bouncing about as she did so. "I don't know, it might be. We could always check." She said with a grin.

Sirius nodded. "We should do that I think." And they both commenced in tickling the little bow wrapped boy until he was laughing so hard his couldn't breathe properly. "Alright, I can't wait, I am opening it now, I can't wait till Christmas." Sirius said dramatically, ripping the ribbon from the baby. "WOW It's a…It's a…"

Harry jumped up and held up his arms. "Isa Haaaawweee!" he squealed, making all three of his co decorators laugh merrily.

Sirius lifted him up and held him tight. "It is the best present ever, just what I always wanted. I love it so much!" he said kissing Harry all over his wiggling face.

Suddenly the fire lit up green and Remus stumbled through.

"Wow, it looks like a Christmas tree exploded in here? Did we let Sirius too close to boxes with his pranking supplies or something?" he joked as he shook the sandy hair from his eyes.

He held his hands out for Harry, this had been the first he had been back since the full moon. Harry was looking at him in astonishment. Sirius handed him over, leaving the innumerable sticky backed bows clinging to his head, much to Dora's delight.

"Moo Moo go bye?" Harry said, looking at Sirius and then back at Remus, confusion etched on his face.

"That's right, and I came right back again." He said, plucking a purple bow from his head and looking at it quizzically.

"Is there a reason that our little boy is covered in bows?"

Sirius chuckled "I opened my Christmas gift early." He said with a grin.

"Isa HAAAWWWEEEEE!" Harry yelled again, as Dora had spent the last 15 minutes teaching him.

Remus burst into laughter "That is a wonderful gift! Well done Nymphadora." He said with a wink. She scowled.

"Not that name, anything but that name." she growled, "Just, how bout Tonks? Just call me that." She said.

He laughed, "All right then, Tonks it is. Come on little miss, why don't you help me get this present unwrapped while Sirius finishes up with the decorations."

The little girl nodded and followed Remus and Harry upstairs.

Harry and Dora were sitting under the Christmas tree with several of Harry's books. Dora was reading them to him while he pulled the decorations back off the tree.

"Sirius, I am beyond positive that when I left here we had three packs of chocolate biscuits." Remus said, looking through the cupboard.

"No, no I don't think we did." Sirius said, looking at his fingers.

Remus narrowed his eyes and looked into the sitting room.

'Heya Harry!"

"I Haaawwweeee."

"I know you are." Said Remus with a grin, "Who ate all the chocolate?" he asked, his hands in the air.

Harry mimicked him, his hands by his ears in a full shrug. "Mmmm num num cocala" he jabbered.

Remus turned to Sirius arms crossed. "I may or may not have used them as bribery to get him to talk, or to sit in the pram, or to brush his teeth, or you know, the random trade out for a crayon…" Sirius shrugged.

"For the love of Merlin." Remus groaned "It doesn't matter, dinner is ready anyways."

He walked in and picked up the toddler before sitting him in his seat and placing the steak and kidney pie in front of him. Harry pulled a face and looked at Sirius, holding out his hand expectantly.

"Just eat your food." Sirius hissed.

"Come on cub, you like steak and kidney pie, I know for a fact that you do." Remus said, nudging the plate closer.

Harry shook his head adamantly, holding out his hands to his Godfather. "Cocala." He demanded.

"You are a tattle tale. You are going to grow up to be a Slytherin." Sirius sighed sadly, shaking his head.

Harry made another face, "Eeewwwweeeee, no no no, no no no, no smyvefffvnnfnn" he said.

Sirius nearly choked on his food, Andromeda had to pound on his back.

"I can't believe you taught him that." Remus said, frowning at the pair.

"That was not me, I did not do that." Sirius said, laughing. "I really wish I did, but it wasn't me. I would take credit for that in a heartbeat."

Remus looked at Harry and frowned. "Harry, Uncle Sirius said no Slytherins?" Remus said, faking excitement to entice the boy.

Harry poked at his food, as if contemplating if he should eat or not. "Bad, Bad dadddaadddeeeee, no no no smyvefffvnnfffnnnn! No no no dadadadadeeeee. No amie no!"

Sirius roared in laughter again. "You have a very smart daddy." He said, shaking his head at James' attempt to presort his son before he was even two. "Leave it to James to start Hogwarts training early."

"No amie no! No amie no!" Harry said happily, tentatively licking the food off his finger. He shook his head and held out a hand again :Cocala!" he demanded.

"Great job there Uncle Siri." Remus grumbled as Sirius snickered. Who knew a habit could be taught in a week?

0o0o0o0o

Remus was giving Harry his bath that night, as he hadn't been home to properly play with him in more than a week. He looked up to grab the towel from the shower curtain rod, where it was hanging above his head, when he noticed a suspicious brown goop on the ceiling.

"Sirius." He called as he walked into Harry's room, carrying the wrapped up baby.

"Hhmmmm." Sirius said as he pulled his auror sweatshirt on over his head.

"Do I even want to know why there is mud on the bathroom ceiling?"

Sirius flushed and turned to leave the room. "No, no you do not."


	10. Chapter 10: Out of Sight

**_Holy Cow ALERTS AND FAVS!_**

**_In less than a week there are more for this story_**

**_Than the final installment of ATSR (Lily)…._**

**_I am astounded._**

**_I am glad so many people like it. Thank you so so much!_**

**_As always, I am certainly not JKR_**

Chapter Ten

**Out of SIght**

Remus was pretty sure that somehow Sirius had ended up more excited than Harry. In fact, he was pretty sure Harry had no idea what was going on. Sirius had insisted that they take Harry to the muggle shopping center and get his picture taken with father Christmas, Harry had screamed like they were handing him over to Salazar Slytherin himself. He calmed down once they took him back, only to be upset when they passed the paddock of reindeer, to which he started screaming a heartbreaking mixture of Daddy, Amie, and Pongs. They had gone straight home after that. Wrapping presents with Sirius had been more than an adventure. Eventually Remus had delegated him official Harry watcher (even though Harry was asleep) and just finished it himself.

Christmas morning arrived with a chill on the air. Remus looked out at the trees as the blew in the wind. He could hear Sirius and Harry upstairs, they hadn't made their way down yet. Remus wondered idly how long it would take before they could convince Harry to sleep in his own bed. Or rather, how long it would take him to convince Sirius to put Harry in his own bed. Sometimes he wondered if Sirius might just be relying on Harry as much as Harry was relying on Sirius. As if on cue he heard the sounds of Harry's little feet on the steps, tap tap, fwump, tap tap fwump, foot foot bum, foot foot bum.

"Christmas, Christmas!" came Sirius' chant down the steps.

"blgjoahglblbhfoain kjboainbnkanlk." Came Harry's dutiful reply.

Remus smiled to himself, the little boy was swiftly picking up his old speech patterns and rambunctiousness, much aided by Sirius, he might add. He wasn't quite back to his old self completely, but Remus wasn't certain that without James and Lily, Harry would ever be the child he was once meant to be.

"Uncle Remmy!" came Sirius' call from the kitchen, it was followed by soft banging on his bedroom door.

"MOOOOMMMMOOOOO!" Harry cried.

Laughing, he opened his door. Harry's arms immediately shot up in a plea to be held. Responding instantly, he lifted him into his arms.

"Hey there cutie! What brings you down here this morning?" Remus asked, jokingly.

"Pood." Harry said, looking towards the kitchen.

"PRESENTS!" Sirius yelled from within the room, over the racket he was making.

Harry shook his head in disagreement. "Pood." He said seriously, making Remus chuckle.

"Check out those jamies!" he said, holding him out and looking at the red, white, and green footed sleeper Harry wore. "On the Naughty List. Well at least you are honest, that has to count for something little cub."

"Pood." Harry said again.

"Alright, food it is. Uncle Sirius, we are hungry!" he said as he entered the kitchen and strapped Harry into his seat.

"Black Pudding, Eggs, and Bacon on the way." Sirius said, his wand whipping about.

Remus wasn't sure how he knew how to cook, he certainly couldn't, he never had been good at it, but Sirius was, and he seemed to like it. It was just another oddity that was Sirius Black. He watched as he sat the cup and food on Harry's tray and immediately Harry picked up the eggs and stuffed them into his mouth.

"Mmmmm num num num." he said, eggs dribbling out.

"I knew I shouldn't have left him alone with you for more than a few days." Remus said, shaking his head.

Sirius laughed happily in response. Remus had to admit, for the first time since Halloween, Sirius looked happy. Truly happy, like nothing else was weighing on his mind, his eyes weren't hollow or dark underneath, he didn't seem tense or jittery, he seemed completely happy. With a jolt he realized that he was too. He was happy, he was living in a home, with a family, an unconventional one, sure. But who was a werewolf to require normalcy anyways? Somehow in less than a month, Harry had moved in and made them feel whole again, regardless of the gaping hole that James and Lily had left behind. He looked at the chattering baby as he wrinkled his nose at the black pudding on his tray.

He pushed it off the tray and gagged dramatically, "Non." He said firmly.

"What was that Harry?" Remus asked, his previous thought forgotten. "What did you just say?"

Harry wrinkled his nose again, "NON!"

"Did you just here that?" he said, excitedly.

Sirius shrugged. "He said no?"

"No, he said no, in FRENCH!"

Sirius looked at Harry with his mouth open in an O. "You don't like that?" Sirius coaxed.

"Non, Non, Blech." He said, shaking his head.

"Well, looks like story hour is paying off." Sirius said with a smirk.

"You are so clever. Just like your mum." Remus said with a smile.

Harry looked at them like they had both gone mad.

After eating, and cleaning up the black pudding mess off of the floor, and chair, and wall, Sirius carried Harry into the sitting room and sat him down beside the multicolored tree. He blinked up at it in awe, before leaning down and peeking at the plate under the tree. He picked up the now empty milk glass and looked inside.

He turned and looked at Remus, his lips in a perfect O, "Ah Gone!" he said, looking back into the cup.

"Father Christmas drank it." He said with a smile.

Harry picked up the small plate that had held a mixed assortment of Christmas biscuits. He pouted out his lip and touched a crumb. "Ah Gone!" he wailed, huge tears springing from his eyes.

Remus scooped him into his arms and patted his back soothingly, pulling the empty dish from his hand. "You could have left him one biscuit Siri." He hissed.

Sirius shrugged guiltily. "I didn't think he would have a melt down over them." He defended.

"It's all right baby. Look, he ate the biscuits but left the presents. Do you want a present?"

Harry turned his little head towards the tree, his lip still pouted out. "Pwesent." He muttered, sniffling slightly.

Sirius laughed and pulled out a longish one.

"Do not give him that first, he won't open anything else." Remus said, grabbing the gift and hiding it behind his back. Harry tried to climb his shoulder to see where it had gone.

"Here little bit, look at this." Sirius said, holding out a smaller package.

Harry took it reluctantly and settled himself into Remus' lap before tearing at the paper. He was every bit of James while opening gifts. Neither Sirius nor Remus could withhold their laughter. Paper had gone flying and as he opened each toy he glanced at it, dropped it, and moved on, he was on a mission.

"I think we forgot to get him any clothes, he has all toys." Remus said, looking around himself as he pulled the long thin package from his back, and placed it in front of Harry.

"Meh, who needs clothes, we were born starkers we should stay starkers." Sirius said with a shrug.

"Well I will remind you of that the next time Harry makes a run for it after bath time." Remus replied.

Harry began to throw paper to and fro, quickly revealing the small, child's broomstick. He jumped from Remus' lap. "BOOM!" he shouted. "FWY! FWY! DADDDEEEE FWY BOOM HAAAWWWEEE FWY DADDDDEEE BOOM HAAAWWWEEEE!" he hopped around, looking for James. He even ran to a window.

Remus looked up at Sirius, whose mouth was set in a thin line, as if he was determined not to show emotion. He sighed and walked over to Harry, sensing that Sirius may have been frozen to the spot. He reached him and took his hand, pulling him back over to the Christmas tree.

"FWY!" Harry insisted. "Daadddeee FWY."

Both Remus and Sirius remembered well that it was James' job to keep an eye on Harry if he flew, that was Lily's rule. It hadn't occurred to them that he might correlate the two, only knowing how much he had loved the first broom Sirius had gotten him.

"Daddy can't fly. But Uncle Siri can fly." Remus said, nudging him towards Sirius.

Harry stayed where he was, his face contemplative. "Daaadddeee Bye." He said certainly.

"Daddy and Mummy had to go away. They can't come home." Remus clarified, trying to disassociate bye bye with James and Lily.

Harry screwed up his face and looked into the fire then after several minutes, back at Sirius. "Petey bye bye?"

Sirius' jaw dropped, he looked at Remus, stunned. They hadn't even thought about Harry remembering him. Sirius cleared his throat. "Yes, yes he is bye bye too."

Harry bent down and lifted the broom, "Hawweee fwy." He said, sitting the broom on the floor and sitting his puffy nappied bum on it.

That evening the wireless sang out in the corner, the two men were playing a much interrupted game of chess while Harry stood by the window, his feet firmly on the ground and bouncing his bum up and down to the music, his hands waving about.

Sirius chuckled as he watched him. "Well baby boy, you certainly get your moves from Jamie that is for sure." He said with a grin.

Remus laughed remembering James dancing around their dorm room on several occasions. "Look at that nappy bum wiggle." He said with a smile. "Your go."

You wouldn't even know that the tension from this afternoon had happened, Harry had returned to a happy bouncing (literally) baby. Even he and Sirius had pushed past it fairly quickly. As it would happen for the upcoming weeks and months, a moment would come, that rendered them broken but it passed as quickly as it came. Harry spoke up and grew, he played and laughed as did Remus and Sirius. They began to learn who they were now. Certainly they weren't the same carefree boys that were once the marauders, they had changed, they had grown in their own ways. Faced with the prospect of being surrogate parents, and learning to overcome grief and pain they were becoming the men that they never realized they had the potential to be. Were there bumps in the road? Huge ones. Did they stumble or fall over certain dates or an unexpected word from Harry? Weekly, it seemed. But the thing to note was the fact that they always got back up.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sirius stood in the hall watching Remus read to Harry before bed. He glanced out at the last night sky of May. Tonight they were trying to put him in the toddler bed. So far Sirius had slept with Harry every night since they got him. He listened as the muggle fairy tale was read out in eloquent French, and Harry listened with rapt attention. He loved being read to. As the story finished Remus sat him down and took his hand, leading him over to the small bed. Harry shook off his hand and walked over to his little side table fiddling with a music box that was there.

Sirius walked into the room and knelt down beside him, touching his soft, thickening hair.

"It is night night time baby boy." He said with a smile.

Harry pulled away and continued to play as if he hadn't heard him.

"Harry, let's get into your big boy bed." Remus tried.

Harry ignored him completely. He pulled on the bottom drawer and peeked inside. He came back up holding a picture. It was the one of Harry with James and Lily from the cottage. Sirius looked at the picture, holding his breath. He had forgotten he hid that in there. He remembered doing it. He had never put the pictures out, none of them. He had brought them home and couldn't bear to look at them. He had been certain that Harry didn't need the constant reminder either. He could honestly say he had forgotten all about the pictures. Suddenly his heart sank, how could he have forgotten about James?

Remus glanced at the picture and then at Sirius. He hadn't even known it was in there.

"What did you find?" Remus asked as Harry placed the picture on the little bed.

Harry pointed at it. "See it?" he said, his eyes boring into the picture, his eyebrows pulled in in the middle.

Sirius sat down beside him and ran his finger over the frame. "Who is that Harry?" he said, pointing to the photo image of Harry that was sucking on his fingers.

"Baby." Harry said with half a smile.

"That's right. That is a baby." Remus encouraged. He pointed at Lily. "Harry, who is that?"

Harry looked closely, his tongue poked out, as it always was when he was deep in thought. "Who dat?" he asked in return pointing at Lily.

Remus heard Sirius choke on his words behind him. "Harry, that is your mummy, you know your mummy." He said, choking back a sob.

Harry looked closer. "Who dat?" he asked, pointing at James.

Remus glanced back at Sirius, who looked devastated, he was beyond words.

Remus pointed at the picture. "Look." He said pointing to each in turn. "Harry's Mummy, Harry's Daddy, and Harry." He said softly. "Votre maman, votre papa, et Harry" he said.

Harry shook his head. "No, non, Mummy Ah gone, Dadddeee ah gone." He said simply, no trace of distress in his face. He sat the picture on the floor and headed for the door of the room. "Bye, I Pway!" he said with a smile.

Sirius was staring at the picture on the floor as if his eyes were glued to it. Remus stood and placed his hand on his head, ruffling his hair as they used to do to James.

"No Harry, it is time for bed. In your big boy bed." He said firmly.

"No, no nigh nigh." Harry pouted.

Remus took his hand and led him to the little white wooden bed and sat him upon it, tucking the striped blanket around his legs.

"Yes night night." He said.

Harry held up his arms to Sirius. "Nigh nigh unca Siwi, Nigh nigh unca Siwi." He cried, tears welling in his green pools.

Sirius looked up at the sound of his name. He gripped the picture and stood it on the side table, pointing his wand and fixing it there with a sticking charm.

"Sorry little bit, tonight you sleep in here." He said with a sad smile. "But look the picture can sleep in here too, every night with you alright? They will keep you safe just like always." He said, only stumbling over the words a bit.

He lay Harry down, he popped back up, his cries intensifying. Remus stood and sat in the rocking chair, they had decided to weather this storm together, to provide a united front, mainly to keep Sirius from backing out again. Sirius lay him back down and he popped back up, now sobbing and thrashing.

"I can't use a sticking charm on him can I?" Sirius hissed.

Remus bit back a laugh, "Unfortunately not."

"Damn." He muttered as he lay him back down again.

After ten more up and downs Harry stayed in his bed, though he had thrown a terrible fit. And was now gasping and hiccupping while Sirius rubbed circles on his back and brushed his hair from his face, whispering the story of Babbity Rabbity from entirely from memory. They watched as his breathing evened out, even though he did hiccup from his extended crying spell every so often, and his eyes remained closed. Remus stood and pointed to the door, Sirius held up a finger, asking for just a minute. Remus nodded and headed out of the room, leaning against the wall outside to wait.

"Goodnight baby boy. Sleep tight. And remember," he could picture Sirius pointing from the bedside. "Harry's mummy, Harry's daddy, and Harry. Always and forever." He said as he stood and left the room.

When he made it to the hall he saw Remus standing there. He leaned against the opposite wall, putting up a one way silencing charm as he did, so they could still hear Harry but he could not hear them.

"I can't believe he doesn't remember them." He gasped in a dry voice, his normal mask of confidence slipping.

"He didn't forget them, he remembers that he has a mum and dad, he knows they went away, he just, he doesn't remember what they look like. You can't blame him Sirius. He is not even two years old. It has been more than seven months since he last saw them. He was only 15 months old when they died."

"I don't blame him." Sirius snapped. "I blame myself. I didn't, I didn't put the pictures out. I couldn't right after. And then, I got so caught up in Harry and life that I-I forgot. I forgot to put up the pictures. I forgot about Jamie. I never thought he would forget them, it just, I never thought about it. How could I let him forget them? How could I fail them like this?" he said miserably. He was nearing hysteria, very close to Harry's state mere moments ago.

Remus reached out and took him by the arm, leading him downstairs. Sirius sat at the kitchen table and let his head fall onto the solid wood. Remus waived his wand and summoned a tea set up before sitting across from his friend.

"It isn't your fault. I did it too. I never sat them up, I never showed him a picture, I never mentioned it to you again after Godric's Hollow. And it wasn't because I was afraid to fight, it was because I forgot. It never occurred to me once we got him and we were being run ragged by a one year old while trying to figure out how to move on with an entirely new life. You didn't fail them. Quite the opposite, you fought the entire ministry to get that child. You fought your very friends and mentors, against all odds. You put the real traitor in Azkaban, you not only gave them justice but you are giving their son the life he deserves. You are no a failure in any sense of the work. This is not set in stone. We can fix it. We will fix it. We will put up the pictures. It isn't as if we don't say their names or talk about them in correlation to Harry daily. We are always saying how much he is like them. He knows who they are and about them, he just forgot their faces, we can fix that."

Sirius looked up and nodded. "They are in my room, in the bottom of my wardrobe."

They should have gone to bed when Harry had first fallen asleep, but they spent a little more than an hour hanging and placing photos from the cottage. When they did finally go to sleep Harry woke them every two hours from that point, crying to go to Sirius' bed. At 4 in the morning, they both sat in the hall, Harry was finally asleep again. Sirius dropped his head into his hands.

"Why did we decide to do this again?" he moaned.

"Because if you ever want to go on another date, you can't be home by bedtime and if she wants to stay over, your bed will be really cramped with Harry in it."

"Right, there was that."

"Not to mention we are starting potty training when I get back from the moon, so if you haven't broken him of sleeping in your bed by then, you will be the one that he is having his overnight accidents on."

"And then there was that too. Right, so operation Harry sleeps in his own room is underway."


	11. Chapter 11: Potty Problems

Chapter Eleven

**Potty Problems**

A very perplexed Sirius stood outside of the bathroom door.

"What am I supposed to do?" he said, glancing over at Remus.

"Well, just, let him watch you go." He replied with a shrug.

"WHAT!" Sirius exclaimed.

"How else is he going to understand?" Remus shrugged.

"You do it. Maybe we should call Mel, make sure it is even legal to do that…" he worried the hem of his shirt nervously.

"You prat, of course it is legal, honestly. Go in there."

"No, no I think you would be better at this. After all, you are doing brilliantly at teaching him French."

"Don't be ridiculous, I am not the one here with him every day. I am not even here with him every night. Look, I am going to take off his nappy, then you show him how to go and how to, well stand and stuff. Don't forget the stool." He said wisely.

"What if he falls off?"

"Well, we can always teach him to sit instead of stand at first." Remus shrugged.

"Hell no!" Sirius protested. "Jamie would come back from the grave and drag me back with him if I taught his son to wizz sitting down."

Remus laughed at the entirely correct thought. "Well then go show him." He looked over Sirius' shoulder at the entirely confused Harry who was standing in nothing but a nappy. This was not the usual early morning tradition as it were.

Smiling, Remus waved him over, he went obediently, and without laying him down Remus unpinned the white cloth and threw it into the bin.

"Alright cub, are you ready to be a big boy?"

"Me big boy!" Harry said, bouncing about the bathroom completely nude.

"Shouldn't we have had him keep a shirt on?" Sirius asked hesitantly.

"Well, I was thinking he might get pee on it if we did that." Remus mumbled.

"What do you mean? Is he not going to go in the toilet!" Sirius protested.

"Not if you don't hurry it up. Keep stalling and he is going to go on the tile."

Sirius frowned and pulled the door mostly shut. Alright Harry. Now listen, I am fully trusting you to not remember this when you are older. Do we have a deal? So, what you are going to do is stand here…stop stop stop…Ungh! No!" came Sirius' voice.

Remus bit his lips, a good idea of what had happened. Sirius came out of the bathroom holding Harry under the arms and away from his body like he might explode. He placed him in Remus' waiting arms.

"I quit, I don't think he is ready." He growled before limping dramatically away, his left sock in one hand, Remus noticed the trail of darker red flannel at the bottom of his left pyjama leg.

"What did you do Harry?" Remus said, trying to hide his grin.

Harry shrugged his shoulders and watched his godfather disappear into his room.

"Come on let's go try this out." He said, walking into the bathroom and setting Harry down.

A few minutes later Sirius rejoined them in Harry's room, where Harry was gripping a pair of small underpants in his hands. Remus was trying to coax him into putting them on.

"I thought we had decided he wasn't ready?" Sirius grumbled, kneeling on the floor and taking the little blue printed briefs from Harry's hands, looking at the little golden snitches that were patterned on them. "These might just be the smallest, cutest things I have ever seen." He said as he lifted Harry's leg and put it through the hole in the underpants, Harry held onto his shoulders for balance, lifting the other leg for him.

"I found them in diagon alley. I thought they were perfect, he has 20 pair, ranging from snitches to dragons. I even found a pair of red Gryffindor ones that I though you and Jamie would both appreciate.." Remus said with a grin.

"TWENTY PAIR! Are we only going to wash them once a month or something?" Sirius stammered, Harry looked between the two like they had gone mad, putting him in these underpants.

"First off, I would like to point out that if you are only doing wash once a month I surly hope you have at least thirty one pair of underpants. Please Merlin, change them daily. Second, if you think you are only going to go through one pair a day for the first several months you are delusional."

Sirius brushed off the first part of the conversation looking concerned about the second half, "Why would he need more than one pair a day?" he baulked looking down at his godson as Remus laughed before pulling a pair of shorts and cotton shirt over Harry's head.

"Somehow I think I am training you as much as we are training him. Did you not read the muggle book I bought?"

Sirius shrugged "No, I figured we could just put and impervious spell on him and call it a day."

Remus laughed harder.

Three outfits and pair of underpants later and they decided that clothes were now an unnecessary part of the equation, leaving him to run about in just his little briefs, it was much easier to get them down in time, and much easier on their wash load.

"The only thing that leaks more than you is an old cauldron." Sirius said, pulling a green pair of briefs on him, smiling at the dragon that was printed across the backside. "Are you sure about that impervious charm?"

Remus frowned at his own bare chest. He had been holding Harry in the yard when he had this accident. "Maybe we should call, Mel…" he said, losing confidence.

"We can call Andy." Sirius said lightly. "Dora seems pretty well housebroken."

"He is not a puppy, Sirius."

"Pup Pup Pup!" Harry cried excitedly, bouncing about, as he so often did. "Paaaeeeey Paaaeeeeyyy!" He chanted.

Sirius shook his head. "Nope, padfoot only comes to play with little boys who use the toilet and don't wet their pants."

Harry pouted out his lip, Sirius rarely told him no. "Yesh!"

"Uhm, no." Sirius replied.

"YESH!" Harry insisted, stomping his foot.

"No." Sirius said firmly.

"Yesh yesh yesh, Hawweee say yesh."

Sirius stood and crossed his arms. "And I said no. Not until you go at the toilet, like a big boy."

"No." Harry scowled

Sirius gaped at him.

"Siri, you do realize you are arguing with a not even two year old right?"

"He started it." Sirius grumbled.

"Tarted it." Harry mimicked, pointing at Sirius. The sight was so cute that Sirius couldn't not laugh.

0o0o0o0o

After two weeks Harry was learning, or rather Sirius and Remus were learning. They had started to recognize the potty warning signs, such as what had been dubbed the wee wee wiggle, and trying to pull of his underpants wherever he stood. They were getting faster at getting him to a bathroom, public was a hazard though. So far both of their library trips in the last two weeks had ended in a wet mess. Though, it did have the added bonus of Jessalyn offering her help with the situation. She had suggested that every single time one of them went to the bathroom they take Harry with them, just so he understood the purpose behind it. So far, while definitely not the smoothest thing the marauders would be known for, it seemed to be working. Until today…

Remus heard shouting from upstairs and bolted up, two steps at a time, to see what had happened. The sight that met his eyes was not a happy one. Sirius was standing in front of the toilet and Harry appeared to have climbed in between Sirius' legs and was turned looking up to see where the pee was coming from. Sirius had tried to push him back and in the coming moments he had lost control of his bathroom experience, pee had hit Harry, the wall, Sirius' leg and stomach.

Sirius was still shouting, "No. No Harry, No! Move!"

Harry was tangled up in Sirius' jeans and couldn't move he was holding his hands up crying. "No, no Siwi no wee on Haawwwweeee.

Remus stood at the bathroom door laughing hysterically at the pair inside. Harry looked back at him and started crying. "Unca Siwi wee, Unca Siwi ba ba boy, wee on Haawwweeee!" He cried as Sirius untangled him from his jeans

He ran to Remus, arms outstretched, Remus stepped back and put a single hand on his forehead, holding him at bay.

"Nu uhg, your Uncle Siri is going to be putting you in the bath and scrubbing you down before I hold you."

Sirius had finished adjusting himself and turned around, scowling. His own jeans had blotches of decidedly dark fabric, as well as his pale yellow button down. The walls appeared to be dripping a bit, there was also a small puddle on the floor.

"We are finding another method." He said darkly as he reached out for Harry's hand who jerked away.

"No, no Unca Siwi, Unca wee on Haawwweeee. Ba ba!" He declared.

Remus couldn't contain his laughter, when the floo alarm went off downstairs, indicating that someone was waiting to be let through.

"I got it." Remus said with a grin.

"Well isn't that swell of you." Sirius scathed as he tried to strip the struggling toddler.

Chuckling lightly, Remus took the stairs two at a time to get to the fire, after checking, he admitted Melanie through.

"Hey Mel, what brings you through here today?" he asked pleasantly.

"I am supposed to have a lunch date with one Harry Potter and Sirius Black." She said with a smile.

Remus nodded as he remembered the conversation from last night, it fell somewhere between actually letting Sirius impervious Harry's underpants for dinner and putting him kicking and screaming into his toddler bed. It had been a long couple of weeks. "Right, Sirius told me, I just forgot with the insanity that was today, and yesterday, and you know this fortnight in general."

"Ah trouble in pottyland?" she said with a grin, Sirius had detailed to her several of their exploits over the last two weeks.

"You could say that." Remus said with a grin. "Have a seat. I will make up some tea while you wait."

"How is he doing sleeping in his own bed?" she asked as she sat at the table.

"About as well as Sirius does if you take his broom away."

"Ahhh, that well then?"

"Precisely." Remus said with a shake of the head.

"Are the birthday plans coming along?"

"They are, just a month away now. Trying to remind Sirius that if he wants to invite the villagers he can't do anything magical is the biggest hiccup there."

She nodded in understanding.

"So, is this the first date? Well…this time around I mean?" he blushed slightly.

She laughed. "If you consider lunch out with a wet bottomed two year old chaperone a first date, then yes." She said with a grin.

"Hey now, no wet bottoms here, he is all cleaned up. And dry." Sirius said happily as he entered the room carrying a thoroughly disgruntled messy headed Harry.

"You might want to rethink the overalls." Remus said, noticing the red overall shorts that Harry was wearing.

"I think he looks perfect." Sirius said with a smile, Harry was looking murderous.

Melanie stood up and held out her hands, Harry went to her willingly.

"Why no smile little love?" she said, kissing his pouting cheek.

"Haweeee mad." He said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Why are you mad?" she asked, bemused at the little boy's attitude.

"Mad, me mad. Unca Siwi wee'ed on Hawweee! Wee'ed on Hawweeee" he exclaimed vehemently, holding his arms up in the air.

Remus burst into unrestrained laughter, Melanie's mouth dropped open and she turned to look at Sirius who was wearing a face of shocked embarrassment.

"In my defense." He stuttered. "It was his fault entirely."

."


	12. Chapter 12: His Whole World

**_Sorry sorry, got caught up writing the next gen fic…_**

**_Thank you for the astounding number of reviews._**

**_You are all awesome._**

**_This is short, but I thought it was perfect this way._**

Chapter Twelve

**His Whole World**

_"Haweeee mad." He said, crossing his arms over his chest._

_"Why are you mad?" she asked, bemused at the little boy's attitude._

_"Mad, me mad. Unca Siwi wee'ed on Hawweee! Wee'ed on Hawweeee" he exclaimed vehemently, holding his arms up in the air._

_Remus burst into unrestrained laughter, Melanie's mouth dropped open and she turned to look at Sirius who was wearing a face of shocked embarrassment._

_"In my defense." He stuttered. "It was his fault entirely."_

"I don't think I want to know." Melanie said, looking between Sirius and Harry, then at Remus who was laughing.

"You so do." Remus wheezed.

"You really, really don't." Sirius affirmed. "Come on Harry, let's go." He said pointing to the door.

Remus bent and lifted him into his arms. "Leave him here. You two go, I will keep him." He said bouncing him on his hip.

"But- he was supposed to go." Sirius protested.

"Sirius, you haven't left him but once in the entire time he has been here. And that was to run out for Christmas for two hours. Go, have fun. Be a twenty two year old for a bit. I can handle him. Just wait and see, we get along great. Besides, do you really want to spend the entire day with your side all wet? What if there are no bathrooms around."

"But-I- Lily and James…"

"Did not expect you to spend every waking moment with Harry, even if you are his Godfather. You know, James and Lily went out too, we both babysat from time to time. It will be fine. Go, go to London. Visit people you know. Get out of France and back where you can understand what people are saying for a bit. We will be fine. Won't we cub?"

Harry had his arms crossed and was glaring at Sirius. "Haawwweee mad."

"See he doesn't want you anyways." Remus said with a smile.

"Oh that makes me feel so much better about the situation." Sirius scowled.

"Come on Sirius, it will be fun. You will see." Melanie said, pulling him towards the door. "We can plan a whole different type of play date." She smiled.

"Well, in that case." He muttered, waving to Harry and Remus and following her out.

0o0o0o

He and Melanie had chosen to go to muggle London, they went go karting that afternoon, something Sirius had never done, but Mel, growing up as a muggle, had spent her childhood doing. They had a blast. He couldn't remember laughing, at something that was not Harry, that hard in a long time. They had followed it with stopping to see a picture at the cinema and then, after stopping to buy a proper outfit and going back to Remus' flat to change, they went out to a fancy dinner.

"This feels weird." Sirius said, fidgeting in his seat and messing with the place setting in front of him.

"What feels weird? Being on a date with me again? Or, being without Harry?"

Sirius laughed briefly. "A bit of both. But, I actually meant being without Harry. I have barely slept without the little bugger since picking him up from Surry. I am not used to not hearing my name yelled at seemingly random intervals."

"Well, we could remedy that." She said with a smile. Sirius choked on his drink.

"Could we now?" he asked, wiping the soft drink from his shirt.

"I think it could be arranged, after all, I am not your case worker anymore, not after last week. And I think we should celebrate. It has been a long six months."

"And that is your idea of a celebration?" he said in disbelief. They had actually spent a good deal of time together over the last six months, but always with Remus or Harry, this specific situation had never come up. Well at least not outside of his head.

"I think it would be a perfect celebration. I think the old Sirius would agree."

"I can promise you that he would." He chuckled. "What about Harry though?"

"I think his uncle Remus can handle him alright. In fact, I doubt that he expected you home tonight."

"I don't know…" she could see the worry on his face.

"Look, if it would make you feel better, floo him from my flat. Check on the baby, tell him what is going on, and then, we can go from there. I can't believe I am having to convince Sirius Black to stay the night with me." She grumbled playfully.

"You and me both." He said, honestly surprised at the turn his once carefree life had taken.

They finished their dinner, where a significant amount of flirting had passed back and forth across the table. After throwing his dinner jacket on the sofa he made the firecall to Remus. It took several minutes for him to answer.

"Hey Remmy." Sirius said happily as a tousle haired Remus poked his head in the fire.

"Hey. I am taking it you are at Mel's?" he said. Sirius noted a bit of tension in his voice.

"Yeah, she wanted me to stay, but, well you look a bit harassed. Is the pip squeak alright?" he asked nervously. He didn't miss Remus biting the inside of his cheek as he decided on an answer.

"Yeah, he is fine. I have him in bed. Just go and have fun." He replied.

"You don't look like everything is fine. I can come home. It really isn't a problem. I never expected to stay away all night. It came as quite the surprise."

"Sirius, stay. Have fun. Harry and I will be here in the morning, come rain or shine. We will make it, I promise."

"I don't know. I will just come home."

"You aren't coming home. He is fine." Remus argued. However, before he could form another reply a wail came from somewhere behind him. A frantic, panicked screaming. Remus turned, wincing.

"You are such a liar. He is not alright!" Sirius said.

"So there is no chance that you didn't hear that?" Remus said woefully.

"Of course I heard that. It is my job to hear that." Sirius said, irritated. "He isn't alright, is he?"

"Well, no, but you haven't ever really left him. He just kind of had a melt down when you didn't come home before dinner. He will be alright, I promise. He can't think you are going to stay by his side all of the time."

"Like hell he can't. I will be home in a minute. Let me tell her bye. Just, I don't know, give him chocolate. That usually works for a few minutes at least."

"Yes, about that… We are out of biscuits." Remus said wryly.

"Mmmhhhmmm. And you fuss at me about it." Sirius said, shaking his head. "See you in a bit." And he popped out of sight.

He turned and looked guiltily at Melanie.

"I am so sorry Mel, I can't stay. Harry is having a fit without me there."

"Remus can't settle him down?"

"No, he isn't used to me being gone, at all, let alone all day like I have been. He gets scared when people leave still. Every time Remus leaves for the moon, when he comes back Harry looks stunned, like he just saw a ghost. He just isn't ready, I am sorry. I knew he wasn't, I don't know why I let Remus talk me into this."

"It is alright. It isn't like we planned it after all. It was good for you to leave him for a bit though, it is the only way he will get used to it."

"Who knew that I would be trapped into having to schedule a well planned seduction in the future?" Sirius mused, causing her to laugh. "What have I turned into?"

"Believe it or not, I think you might just be a daddy." She said with a grin.

"What?" he said, flustered, "I am not a daddy, a godfather, yes. But a daddy? No way." He argued.

"Sirius, you are declining sex to take care of a lamenting, hysterical child. If that doesn't scream daddy, I don't know what does."

It didn't take him long to get back into Chateauroux and get a sniffling gasping Harry into his arms. He rubbed small circles on the boy's back soothingly.

"SSssssshhhh. I was only gone for a bit, and I came back. I will always come back." He a calm voice. He looked at his friend who was leaning against the wall. "He didn't eat, did he?"

"How'd you know?"

"Usually, on about the third day you are gone, and he realizes it isn't like every week, he won't eat that day. He gets all clingy and whiney. He doesn't like change."

"I got him to eat the chocolate biscuits. That was all. I will never complain about you giving in to him again." Remus said fervently. "Was Mel mad?"

Sirius shook his head as he continued to pace the floor bouncing as he went. "No, not at all. She was pretty good about it. We had a good afternoon though. It was fun to go out. Though oddly, I missed the little bit here." He said nodding towards Harry who was twirling the hair at the nape of Sirius' neck and sucking his thumb, whimpering slightly.

"Well he certainly missed you. I think he may have even forgiven you for weeing on him. I am going to take a shower. I have yet to escape him and I know I got in the way of two accidents and a lot of snotty crying. You two will be alright for bedtime?"

Sirius nodded, "Yeah, I think I will impervious him and just let him sleep with me tonight. He has had a hard day today, and let's be honest, he is just going to end up in there anyways."

"He needs a bath first." Remus said as he headed for his own room. Sirius adjusted Harry and headed up the stairs.

The bath was a quick one, as Harry held onto his arm the entire time. He pulled the broomstick underpants on him and cast the impervious charm before slipping him into a pair of sleep shorts and a cotton sleep shirt patterned with lions. When he realized he was getting ready for bed, Harry had pouted out his lip, and began to cry, until Sirius lifted him and took him into his own room and settled him on the king sized bed, handing him Godric as he did so.

"Alright mate, what if I tell you a real story tonight? One about two silly eleven year olds named Padfoot and Prongs and how they accidentally got locked in the terrible, formidable Slytherin common room for the night."

Harry popped his thumb back into his mouth and squirmed under the covers with his stuffed lion, wiggling into the crook of Sirius' arm. Harry rolled to his side and wrapped his other arm over Sirius' chest, patting his side with his little hand. Sirius smiled as he started the thrilling tale, it included all of the best things, himself and Jamie, the conquering heroes. Snivellus and Malfoy, the evil Slytherin tag team, Filtch the filthy, and Peeves the Pest. As the story came to a close he looked down at the tiny version of James curled on his bare chest. His thumb had fallen from his mouth and his hair had fallen over his closed eyes. Godric was smashed underneath him and there was a puddle of drool on Sirius' stomach.

He watched as Harry's back moved up and down in an even motion, his breathing slow and deep. You wouldn't know from looking at his peaceful face that he had been a hysterical terror that day. He looked perfect. Sirius sighed and flipped the black hair away from his eyes. It may be time to give him his first haircut, he thought, it was something he had been avoiding. Something James should have done with him, something James would have been so anxious about, his hair was his defining feature, it would have to be perfect. He smiled at the thought, at how proud James had been that Harry had inherited his hair.

He thought about everything that had happened recently, over the last year since Harry's first birthday. His life was so different now. Nothing was the same, it was all wrapped up in this little person sleeping on his chest. His whole world right here, in one little bundle of energy. In that moment Mel's words came back to him, ringing in his ears. And he knew, without a doubt that they were true. He, Sirius Black, unfathomably, had somehow, become a daddy.


	13. Chapter 13: Birthday Surprises

**_I am so so so so sorry_**

**_I have been so so sick and then _**

**_The baby had to go to the hospital, and then I got sick again from the hospital._**

**_Please forgive me_**

**_One more chapter and we are going to jump a few years. Just a warning._**

**_I am not completely happy with this, but I am posting it anyways._**

**_I am not JKR, you should all bow down and worship her though_**

Chapter Thirteen

**Birthday Surprises**

Today was the day, Sirius thought as he sat up in bed that morning. He glanced over at Harry who was still asleep beside him. Sleeping in his own bed the whole night had still been elusive for the boy, but Sirius would be lying if he said that he minded. He relished the little boy's need for his Godfather. Afterall, he needed Harry too. Not wanting to wake him before he was ready, Sirius crept out of the room, still in his pyjamas, and slipped down to the kitchen. Remus lifted his head from the paper and smiled.

"Is he still asleep?"

Sirius nodded and made a face at Remus' cup of coffee. "How do you drink that stuff?"

"I was raised in France, I summered here. I like coffee." Remus said with a shrug.

Sirius made another face, poking his tongue out dramatically. "Blech." And he rummaged in the cupboard for everything he needed for tea and breakfast. "It is weird to be doing this with so few of our friends." He muttered, not mentioning the two names he was actually referencing, his head still in the pantry.

Remus looked at him sadly. "It is. And without Mr. and Mrs. Potter and Evans. Remember how Lily had promised them that she would throw a big party this year to make up for the lack of one on his first birthday?" He thought briefly about the tragedies that had befallen James' and Lily's parents before the two of them.

Throwing the bread, unceremoniously hard, onto the counter and huffing, Sirius leaned against the wall. "Maybe we shouldn't have done this. We should have just let it be us and him."

"No, Harry deserves a party, even if it is hard for us to deal with the people that aren't here. He will have fun, and that is what matters." Remus replied.

"Ayyyyeeee! Ayyyyeeee!" they heard from the top of the stairs, as they did most mornings. "Me wake up! Me wake up!"

Remus smiled and pointed his wand through the door and muttered, "Finite, Glisseo." Dropping the blocking charm and turning the stairs into a giant slide, which Harry slid down with a squeal.

He walked into the kitchen wearing only his orange underpants and bouncing around. "Haawwee up!" he said happily.

"Hey birthday boy! Look how big you are today!" Sirius said, all thoughts of today's bittersweet emotions sliding away, replaced with only happiness at seeing his godson on his birthday.

"I big!" Harry said with a smile.

"Goodmorning Mr. two years old. Did you remember to use the toilet before coming down here?" Remus said with a grin. Harry wrinkled his nose and looked anywhere but at his Uncle Remus. "Go, my bathroom down here, then we can eat breakfast."

Both men laughed as Harry moped from the room.

"He stripped overnight again?" Remus asked, bemused.

"I'll be buggered if I know when he loses the pyjamas. They are on when I put him in bed in his room, and when I wake up in the morning, he is in my bed in his underpants. I will never understand." Sirius said, shaking his head.

"Maybe it is genetic, remember at school? We never could convince James to sleep in anything more than his quidditch shorts, and that was a fight in itself."

Sirius laughed, "I think I saw his boxers more than I saw my own."

"Well, maybe you should have worn them more often." Remus ribbed.

"Laugh it up wolf boy. That was only one time, and I had worn them, I just, forgot them in a broom closet when I was nearly late for charms. It was a really bad day for Pete to have issues with a vanishing charm."

It only took a few seconds after his name was said for both Remus and Sirius to fall silent. They didn't voluntarily talk about Peter, they had pretty much avoided his name at all costs. It was hard to think about Hogwarts though and not think about Peter. He was an integral part of nearly every marauder memory. Which put a depressing spin on a lot of them. It didn't take much longer for a nude Harry to come back into the room holding his underpants. Smiling he handed them out to Remus, who chuckled and helped him put them back on.

They ate breakfast and all got showered and dressed for their day. They were wavering about in the back garden, Remus holding Harry's hand.

"Do you think it is safe? You don't think they would suspect we would bring him there today?" Remus said, glancing down at Harry nervously.

Sirius followed his gaze. "I don't know, but, don't you think we should take him? I mean, it's his birthday, this day was about the three of them. Don't they deserve for him to come today?"

"Yeah, I mean, of course. But I think that most people will think on those lines, we would be risking, press, and public and possible death eaters, with Harry in tow."

Sirius thought about everything Remus was saying, he knew he was right. "He doesn't understand yet anyways. Maybe we will wait until he is older and take him on his birthday." Sirius said, resigned.

Remus nodded in agreement and the three of them walked from the garden down the lane to the children's park where they were meeting several of Harry's friends from the library and around the neighborhood. Remus had gone while Sirius got Harry ready and prepared the picnicking area for the small party, knowing if he had sent Sirius that magic use was unavoidable. They had decided against having anyone from home come. There was too big a risk of them being followed or inadvertently showing the location of the house. So instead it was an entirely muggle party, Remus had done it all by hand. He had hung streamers from the trees and set up balloons and a banner, all adorned with multi colored dragons. Jessalyn had brought the dragon shaped cake for them and they were stopping on the way to pick up the picnic foods they had ordered. It had turned out to be a very warm, bright day. And Harry was jumping about as soon as they entered the gates to the park, when he saw the brightly colored streamers and balloons his excitement only amplified, even moreso when the food was put out and about 7 kids ranging in age from 2 till 5 arrived to share the day with their story hour friend.

"Hey Jess." Sirius said with a grin as she sat the cake on the table.

She smiled and lifted Harry, who had flung himself into her knees, up for a hug. "Hiya birthday boy!" she said, tickling him until he giggled and squirmed to be sat down. "Hey Sirius, Remus. This looks great, I love that you did it all like a dragon fantasy land." She said, her eyes twinkling.

"Er…yeah that's what we did." Sirius said accepting her hug. As they watched Harry take off in a run after Sammi. "I swear those two are going to grow up and get married." He said with a chuckle.

"I wouldn't doubt it, all I hear about at home is Harry. You'd think they have known each other their whole lives." She giggled as both Sammi and Harry rushed back towards them, Harry pulling a red foil dragon balloon behind him. Sammi was beaming, waiving her arms.

"Mummy Mummy! Lookey! Harwee has a ninese fireball bawoon!" she said, bouncing up and down and pointing to the balloon.

Sirius and Remus, who had been standing just a few feet from the kids both stared at the blonde headed little girl, eyes wide, and then stared for several minutes at Jessalyn.

"Uhm, Sammi you are so silly." She said, nervously.

"You, you, you're a. She just said…" Sirius stammered.

Remus put his hand on Sirius' shoulder and smiled kindly at the stunned, shaken woman. "Perhaps you should come to our house this evening for dinner? The kids will have fun playing." He said.

Sirius was gaping like a fish.

"I-I don't know, I don't think it is a good idea." She muttered.

"But-But- you're a." Sirius continued his attempt at speech.

She sighed. "Yes, and you are Sirius Black and that little hellion that runs you about is Harry Potter. I am an English witch, I know who you are, I have known for months who you are. Ever since you slipped and said his last name. I just. I don't want affiliated with that world anymore." She said.

"But, Jess, we are that world." Remus said softly watching as Harry and Sammi ran off, the balloon trailing behind them as they met up with some of the kids.

"Just, come over, we can talk about it tonight." Sirius composed himself as a couple of the father's made their way over to Sirius.

"Hey Jean, hey Franco." Sirius waived.

"Remus, this is Jean and Franco, they belong to Cole and Scheyenne." Sirius pointed at a brunette little girl and a blonde headed little boy that were playing with Harry and Sammi in the sandpit.

"How is the party going Uncle Sirius?" the man named Jean said in a thick accent while Franco shook Remus' hand. "Hi Jessalyn."

"Hi Jean. Where's Celeste?" Jessalyn asked with a smile.

The blonde headed man pointed towards the tables where several women sat.

Sirius watched her go, a confused look on his face.

"If I didn't know better I would say our resident single uncle has a bit of a thing for Jessalyn." Franco said, laughing.

"I wasn't aware we knew better." Jean joked, causing Remus to laugh.

"I think I like these two." He chuckled.

"Good, you can take over story hour to keep me from the hassle of relentless ribbing when Harry wizzes on my lap this week." Sirius grumbled, following the other three men over to the tables.

The walk home was difficult to say the least, with bags of gifts and a sand, dirt, and cake covered sleeping Harry to carry. Remus and Sirius had their hands full.

"She is a witch!" Sirius hissed as they got closer to their house.

"And you never suspected it?"

"Did you?" he shot back.

"Well, no. But you were around her more." Remus argued.

"She never mentioned it. And I have never seen her do an ounce of magic. I had no clue. D'you think she will come tonight?"

"She said she would." Remus answered as he pushed the door open and held it with his foot so Sirius could walk through with Harry.

"Where should I stick him? He is filthy. Can he sleep in the bathtub if I charm the faucet not to come on?"

Remus laughed and looked at the blue and green icing that had transferred to Sirius' shirt and neck from Harry's clothes, face, hair and hands. "I think you should just put him in his bed and change the sheets after he wakes up."

0o0o0o0o0o

Jessalyn was sitting on the sofa, Harry standing at her knees handing her the padded quaffle for her to throw for him again. Sirius watched, bemused, as she did it time and time again, the obvious magic of it not even phasing her. Remus was sitting on the floor with Sammi in his lap, they were reading one of Harry's moving storybooks. She was pointing out the animals from the book.

"You don't have to worry. I won't tell anyone that you are here. I promise you that." She said softly.

"You have to understand Jess, we are here to keep Harry from being found, this was the last place we expected to run into an English witch. Let alone make friends with one and have them in our house multiple times. It kind of spoils the secrecy thing." Remus said gently as Sammi patted his face to make him pay attention to the book and her.

"How do we know you aren't going to say anything? And how do we not know you? You would have been at Hogwarts with us." Sirius blustered.

"I was, I was a seventh year Ravenclaw when you were in first year."

"Oh, well, we didn't know many seventh years at that point." Sirius said with a shrug.

"Not to mention that we spent nearly the entire first year in detention." Remus added ruefully.

"There is that." Sirius added thoughtfully. "Look. We have spent a lot of time together. How do I know nothing about you?"

"I didn't want you to know anything." She said softly.

"Why."

She sighed. "You can't tell anyone. I am begging you."

"If you can trust anyone to keep it secret, I think it would be us. We have an awful lot to lose here." Remus pointed out.

"Right. I know." She seemed deep in thought for a minute. "Her name is Sammi McKinnon."

Remus thought his head was going to snap off of his neck he looked up so fast. Sirius' mouth dropped.

"But-But- all the McKinnon's are. I mean." Sirius looked at Sammi, stunned. "Even Marleen, and she got married the same month as Jamie and Lily and wasn't even a McKinnon anymore. He killed them all, every one of them. The whole bloodline. You can't be a McKinnon."

He stopped when he noticed the sparkle in her eyes. "I'm not. My daughter is. I was dating Michael, Marleen's oldest brother. We kept it quiet since I am not a pureblood and he didn't want to endanger me. We talked about marriage, we wanted to wait until the war was over. And then we found out about Sammi. She was a huge shock. Michael knew it would make her a target. He knew that he was targeted as it was. He wasn't willing to risk her life, to put her in danger, and neither was I. I was 3 months pregnant when he sent me away, no one knew. I found out he died when she was six months old, from the morning paper. If anyone finds out who she is… They could still come after her, even with him gone. They were ordered to destroy the lineage. I can't let that happen. You have to understand." She plead, a tear slipping down her cheek. "So she goes by my surname and I just pretend that I am divorced. But her name, her real name, is Samantha Micayla McKinnon"

Sirius still looked a bit in shock. Remus smiled comfortingly. "Your secret is safe with us Jess. You really don't have to worry. We are the last ones that would turn you over. We are protecting a little monster from the same people, and Marleen was in our year, she was one of our friends. Lily was in their wedding. We would never, never do something to endanger her niece."

Jessalyn nodded, her golden hair flipping about her face as she tossed the quaffle back down the hall for Harry to chase again.

That night Sirius and Remus sat on the floor of Harry's room as he ran back and forth giggling like mad.

"I think someone had far too much cake today." Sirius said, shaking his head at the overexcited two year old.

Harry hopped his way to Remus, his thick hair thrashing about as he did so. His face alight with happiness and his eyes glittering with laughter.

"Yeah, well I doubt that the piece you snuck him twenty minutes ago helped much." Remus chuckled as Harry threw himself into his uncle's arms.

"Unca Memmy sing!" he squealed.

"What did you call me?" Remus asked. Sirius looked rather baffled for the third time that day.

"Unca Memmy sing song. Birfay song! Haawee birfay, sing song!" he said, now hopping about in another circle.

"Alright." Remus replied, taken back from the sudden name change. "Come on Uncle Siri." He said slowly.

Sirius nodded and helped start the song. Harry picked up half way through and finished it off with a flourish, somersaulting feet over head and landing on his bottom in front of Sirius laughing hysterically.

"Well, we haven't exactly called you Moony recently, I guess all the Uncle Remus rubbed off." Sirius said with a shrug.

"At least I don't sound like a cow now."

He wasn't sure how he felt about this new development, after all Moo Moo, while embarrassing in public, had been one of the last behaviors Harry had carried over from being with James. It had been the first sign that Harry remembered. It seemed that as the more time passed, the more Harry changed from the baby he used to be into this little boy. He watched as the little ball of energy was tickled into submission by Sirius and as he forced him into another round of happy birthday.

After everything that had happened, James and Lily's tiny baby was doing just what they had always wanted. He was growing and changing. He was happy and thriving, and even though they desperately still missed their friends, he and Sirius were actually living their lives. Harry giggle insatiably and jumped into his arms, catching him slightly unaware and knocking him backwards, causing all three of them to laugh.

"Happy Birthday little cub." He said, lifting him into the air above his head.

Harry cackled and kicked his feet as he flew through the air. "Happy Birfay Unca Memmy."


	14. Chapter 14: One Year Later

**_My computer is about to undergo a major Virus removal,_**

**_I am sorry, but it may be a week or so before I can update._**

**_I am stuck until it is fixed, I hurried to put this up._**

**_It is unedited b/c of that reason. When my comp is back up I will go in and edit._**

**_I hope it is alright._**

**_I am not JKR_**

Chapter Fourteen

**One Year Later**

He needed to get up. He had to get up. He couldn't keep putting himself through this. Sirius opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling of his room. He felt rather lonely in this huge bed, all alone. He had woken up from nightmares four times already, a swift look at the clock told him that it was only 3:30 in the morning. He stood and shook out his hair, he nearly pushed his hand through it but stopped himself, it was too much a reminder of what today was. He stood and walked to Harry's room. He was still asleep in his own bed. He had been getting better and better at it. Oddly enough, as Harry's nightmares settled down, Sirius' seemed to pick up. The closer he had gotten to today it seemed that every time he closed his eyes the blank face of James was there, or the empty eyes of Lily, the pair of them lying lifelessly on the dew wet October grass. Even, several times, the bloodied, screaming face of Harry himself appeared.

After two weeks of sleeping like shit, last night had been the last he could handle. And he knew better than even to try and sleep tonight, when it would actually be the same time as it had been one year ago. He wished he could say that this day snuck up on him, unfortunately it had not. He had been dreading it for weeks. Knowing Harry was safe in his bed, Sirius walked downstairs and out the back door. He was so preoccupied that the chilly October air didn't even phase him. He sat himself on the side of the wrought iron garden table and stared into the sky. The stars twinkled back harmlessly, they seemed to mock his mood.

"I thought I heard you come out here."

Sirius grunted a reply as Remus sat a bottle of muggle beer in his hands.

"I was thinking about vodka, tequila or firewhiskey, but remembered that we do still have Harry to care for."

"Good point." Sirius said, accepting the beer and taking a long drink, draining three quarters of the bottle. He took a breath and then finished it off, glaring at it menacingly as if it had personally offended him. Suddenly another one was plopped in his hand, he glanced at Remus who had an entire twelve pack sitting beside him.

"I've got you covered." He said evenly before taking a drink of his own.

"Cheers." Came Sirius' toneless reply.

"You know, this sucks." Remus blurted, scowling and narrowing his turbulent gray eyes.

Sirius chuckled lightly, "I don't think that even begins to cover it."

"I don't think much does." Remus added.

"You know, I don't think I realized how much of my life revolved around the marauders and Lily, until none of it existed anymore."

Remus nodded in understanding. "I didn't either. It just sort of became part of who we were you know? It was a given, Remus, Peter, Sirius and James. And Merlin knows, if there was James, Lily was somewhere nearby. He was so obsessed." He couldn't hold back the grin as the memories washed over him. "Do you remember in fourth year, when he flipped the cauldron in potions because he was staring at her?"

Sirius laughed out loud, "And it spilled everywhere and hit all the Gryffindor's feet." Sirius let out his bark like laugh, "My shoes didn't fit on my feet for a week, damn swelling solution. Lily was so furious, she was sure that he had done it as a prank."

Remus was shaking his head, his blonde hair flipping about, "I never did understand why she thought he would prank himself or the Gryffindors though."

"Are you kidding? We pranked each other and our house so much I am surprised that tower is still standing."

"I guess it is the Slytherin pranks that stand out in my head." Remus said thoughtfully.

"Like when we used a sticking charm to stick them all to their beds and they were late for classes?"

"Or when James made the great hall ceiling really rain? But only on the Slytherin side?"

"Oh, but what about when he tried to charm that Valentine for Lily and turned the entire girls dormitories pink and ruffly."

"I will never forget the day she kissed him." Remus mused, his eyes glassy from unshed tears. "I thought he was going to float away."

"Me either, I had to pay him five galleons because of it." Sirius grumbled, albeit with a smile on his face.

"Don't feel bad, I had to give him ten on their wedding day." Remus chuckled.

"He was so happy. And not just about Lily, though that was near sickening to watch, he was just happy, all the time." Sirius felt the sadness seep back into his chest. "Do you think Harry will be like that when he grows up?"

Remus finished off his second bottle and popped open a third. "What, happy?"

Sirius nodded, "Yeah, like overly happy, like James was."

Remus didn't reply right away, he was thinking about everything that he knew Harry already was and everything he could grow up to be. "I-I think he will be happy. But I think he will have emotions and think of things that James never imagined. He is going to know that his parents died. No matter how much he loves us, he will miss them. He is going to go back to London and be famous for something he doesn't remember or understand. And one day, Voldemort is going to come back, and he is going to come after Harry. I don't think we can keep that from happening."

"I will die trying." Sirius said firmly.

"And then Harry will have just lost another parent, though he will remember this one."

Neither of them spoke for a while, they sat and watched as the blue black sky shot through with pinks and purples, slowly turning orange and red. It was Remus who broke the silence. "Harry is going to be up soon."

In reply Sirius held up the muggle baby monitor that had been sitting on the chair between his feet. Remus nodded and handed him one more beer before standing and grabbing the 8 empty bottles from the table and walking inside, leaving Sirius to his thoughts, alone.

0o0o0o

Sirius watched as Jessalyn lifted Harry into her arms, his little fuzzy lion's tail swinging back and forth.

"I rawwweeerrrr!" Harry yelled, holding his hands up and bellowing in his imitation of the lion he was dressed up to be.

"You are such a scary lion." She said with a grin.

"Yer not commin?" Sammi asked, hanging off Sirius' leg.

"Nope, you, Harry, your mum and Remus are going trick or treating. I am not fond of Halloween." He said. "But you are a beautiful butterfly."

"Do the costumes scare you?" the inquisitive four year old asked.

"Yup, they sure do. They scare the fur right off me." He joked, they had only just recently told Jessalyn about Remus and as such, about Sirius. Well it had been Harry who had told. Pointing furiously at Sirius and declaring him to be a woof woof doggie.

"Come on Miss Priss, let's get on to the candy." Remus declared holding out his arms for Sammi to jump into them.

"We'll be back once the houses run out of treats." Remus said, picking up Harry's candy sack.

"Have fun, don't lose any children." Sirius replied, trying to look for all the world, happy. "Bring me back some chocolate peanut butter pumpkins, I love those things."

"Of course." Jessalyn said as they headed out the door.

Sirius waited a few moments, long enough for the foursome to be gone before he stepped out into the lane and walked the proper distance to apparate away.

Even in the dusk, the burgeoning night sky was darker than normal. The stars seemed to be cooperating with his mood tonight and had taken refuge behind a blanket of clouds. He hadn't really thought about people that would be paying their respects at the cottage tonight. So when he approached the dilapidated house and there were people in front of it, he was brought up short. He wasn't certain on what to do. He made the snap decision to push his way past them and open the gate.

"Uhm, you can't do that. Ministry order." A man's voice said quickly.

Sirius might should have been thankful for the person that was standing up for James and Lily's property, as it was, he was just irritated. He turned and glared at the man.

"I am Sirius Black. I was their best friend. I am raising their son. I carried their fucking bodies from this house, I think I can to whatever I damn well please." He snapped.

All eyes trained on him, he was pretty sure that most, if not all of them, had stopped breathing.

"Of course you can. I didn't know. Of course you can." The man stammered, scrambling for anything at all to say.

Sirius spun on his heel and walked through the gate, letting it slam closed behind him. He winced briefly, nearly expecting Lily to come bursting through the door berating him for shutting her gate like that. He couldn't make himself go into the house again. He hadn't since the day he and Remus had come. He certainly couldn't do it alone, and definitely not tonight. So instead he folded himself down onto the grass, unintentionally in the same place that he had laid their bodies.

He didn't notice that after his spiel to the man at the gate, the other people had dispersed as well. The man that had spoken placed a protection charm over the area and a temporary concealment charm to keep the house hidden for the next 24 hours. In his irritation and blatant grief he hadn't recognized the former auror that he had helped train. Nor had he noticed Severus Snape standing against the beach tree to the side of the house, concealed in darkness hidden from the others. Instead of bothering to afford any attention to the people paying their respects he stared at the house that he still knew so well. It seemed as lifeless as its owners. Like the soul of the house had seeped out over the last year. He sat staring at it and running his hands over the grass for a long time. This was the last place he laid them, the last place they existed in a real way in his life, he had never seen them make it from this spot.

Suddenly he knew that right now, he needed more. Without giving himself a chance to think about it he rushed into the house, pushing every thought that was screaming at him to stay out, away. He found himself standing in the place where he had found James' body. This had been the place that his life had poured out of him, this had been where James lived last. Sirius sat, hoping that somehow a last bit of James might still exist here.

"Hey mate." He spoke to the dusty air, only feeling slightly stupid. "I didn't know where else to go talk to you. It doesn't feel like you are at that grave, having never seen you there I guess. But somehow, it still feels like you are here. I know you aren't, but, well one can hope can't they?"

He sighed and pushed his hands over his face and through this hair, pulling at it and leaving it a mess. James would have been proud.

"I have him, Harry. I doing to really well, he is two and a half and he went muggle trick or treating tonight with Moony." He barely registered that he had used the old marauder nickname, they had been avoiding them for the most part. "I hope that you don't mind him helping me with the minion, I don't think I am ready to be doing it on my own. Harry loves him. He is nearly completely potty trained. It only took us six months. I know you and Lily would have been more successful, I doubt I will ever completely get all the piss off of me and the floor, not to mention the bed. He slept all night in his bed last night. It was a first, he normally ends up with me. I know you guys didn't sleep with him, but he has nightmares and then has these nights where he will cry for you. They are less now, he hasn't woke up crying for mum and dad in a month. He is getting better, and bigger."

He let out a heavy breath, like he was allowing all emotion to show through, "He has gotten so big, and Lily, he is talking so well. He is even learning French. I can't believe how much I love him. I mean I always have, but then, he was your kid, I could always walk away and leave you to deal with the hard stuff. Now, somehow, he became my kid. I worry about him and I think about him all the time, even when he is asleep right next to me. I haven't even pursed a real relationship with Mel because I don't think Harry is ready for a mummy figure. Do you think it is strange that I have made my piece for standing in as James but I can't even consider trying to find someone to fill Lily's role? It just seems wrong on every level. And if I have a serious girlfriend, that takes me from Harry, and I am not willing to do that."

He gripped his hair at the sides of his head pulling it out and letting it fall back to his ears. "I think I can be ok filling your role Jamie because I can try and make choices you would have made. We were so much alike and shared so many moments. I don't think Lily even knew you as well as I knew you. And with Harry in my arms, it feels like I can still have a bit of you. Even if it isn't you. He looks just like you though, and has your marauder flair already. Most of the trauma caused by the Dursley's is past, I don't think he remembers it at all. Though he does still freak out if you go bye bye and leave him behind."

"I don't know what the purpose of this was, really. I guess, I just need you to know that I miss you, and Harry misses you, I talk about you everyday, and I show him your pictures, they are all over the house. I have even reverted to calling him baby James or little bitty baby prongs. Though if I am honest, I never did drop Little Bit at all." Sirius mused over the memory of Harry's birth.

_The walls were a butter yellow and Lily looked exhausted but thrilled. Sirius strode into the room and went straight to her side, kissing her cheek. "You are amazing." He said, smiling hugely._

_"You haven't even seen him." She argued tiredly, "And James said the same thing."_

_"I don't have to see him to know how incredible you are. And James was right." _

_She giggled softly as the door opened and James came in carrying a tightly wrapped bundle, Sirius smiled, James had managed to convince them to wrap the baby in the Gryffindor baby afghan that Lily had knitted. _

_"There he is, the man of the hour." Sirius said in a quietly boisterous voice, he was completely awake for it being 4 AM_

_"Here I am, I have been in the nursery watching them check Harry out." James said, grinning wickedly._

_Lily laughed and shook her head. Sirius scowled and met him half way looking down into the baby's face. "Not you, you prat. You are most certainly not the man of the hour. But this little pipsqueak is." He cooed at the sleeping boy._

_"Well I mean it could be argued that you are the man of the hour. Here hold your arms out and take him." James said as Sirius backed away._

_"What! No way! Lay him out on the bottom of the bed, I will drop him. And how am I the man of the hour, you just had a son and he just burst forth into life. I think maybe Lily should be that man…(EHEM) er woman of the hour." Sirius rambled as James used his extra hand to shove Sirius into a chair, hold him there with his knee and plop the baby into his arms. Sirius looked terrified._

_"And I think that you would be at least one of the men of the hour. A godfather, holding his first godson. Not much bigger than that is there?" James said, his eyes twinkling._

_Sirius looked up from the baby, his mouth agape. "What, Godfather, me? Are you sure? I am not the best role model."_

_Lily smiled at him, watching as he stared at the baby. "Sirius, I would trust no one over you. I am positive that this is the right choice. Besides if all else fails you can recruit Remmy." _

_Sirius had been a bit in shock and nodded. He remembered pulling of Harry's little hat and letting the blanket fall to the sides. "Hi little guy, I am your Godfather. You know what that means? That means I get to let mummy and daddy do all the mean stuff and I can give you anything you want. We will have so much fun and don't worry, your mum will enjoy yelling at me till the day she dies so she will blame me or your dad for it all. Look at all that hair, you look like your daddy. You are like a little bitty baby prongs. A little bitty tiny one though. You are a little bit of nothin. Tiny little bit of fluffy hair and full of pranks already, and this one is for daddy." He said with a wicked smile, handing the baby back to James._

_"He left his first prank in his nappy for you." Sirius said, laughing with Lily. "I think that little bit already shows excellent skills." _

Sirius brought his mind back to the present, Harry would be returning home soon, he wanted to be there. "I guess I just came to tell you that we are alright. We all miss you and would be better if you were here, but we are alright. Harry is happy and healthy and hyper. Remus seems, well he actually seems good, like he is enjoying life. We are doing it, we are living and we are doing alright. I think we are going to make it."


	15. Chapter 15: Falling, Flying, and Fathers

**_If there is a letter missing or a misspelling in Harry's speech,_**

**_That is to show the way he pronounces the word…_**

**_He is little, he misses the correct pronunciation at times._**

Chapter Fifteen

**Falling, Flying, and Fathers**

The scream shot through him, he knew that cry, it was pain. What could he possibly have done now? He took the stairs two at a time, rushing to the first door off the landing where Harry was wailing. He shoved the door open to find the raven haired little boy lying on his back in front of the wardrobe, clutching his arm and crying.

"What happened?" he asked frantically.

Harry screamed in response. He looked him over briefly, deciding that it would be alright to actually move him, he picked him up and carried him downstairs. He sat him on the counter and took a closer look, the side of his forehead was already bruising. He ran a diagnostic spell, telling him that Harry's wrist was broken. It was moments like these, when he couldn't take the boy to a magical hospital without blowing their cover, that he was thankful for his prankster past. He, James and Remus had learned to fix broken bones a long time ago. Though, he knew from experience that it was not a pleasant procedure.

He was going to need help. He sighed and sat Harry onto the floor.

"Hang on, I am going to see if Uncle Remmy is home. We will get your arm all fixed up." Harry continued to cry as he sat back down on the floor.

Sirius threw some powder into the fire and stuck his head in.

"REMUS!" he yelled into the sitting room of the little house.

He was greeted by Jessalyn's smile. "Hey Sirius."

"Hey Jess, is Remus home? Harry broke his wrist and I need help." He said grimly.

"He is outback in the garden with Sammi, we will be right over." She said quickly. "Put a chilling spell on it while you are waiting for us, it will reduce the swelling."

"Thanks." He replied and pulled himself back into the room.

"Alright mate, let's get you sat back up here alright."

Harry was still crying, though he was less hysterical. Sirius knew he would have to wait until they had fixed his arm to figure out what had happened.

"I need you to hold your hand out little bit." He said.

Harry shook his head, his lip trembling.

"Come on, I am just going to make it get cold, it will make it hurt less." He coaxed. Harry adamantly refused, he cradled his arm against his chest and cried harder.

"Hey squirt. What did you do?" came Remus' voice from the doorway.

Sirius turned and frowned. "I have no idea, I found him screaming on the floor, I was finishing up some paperwork for the office and heard him screaming, I can't get him to do anything but cry."

"That's alright. It is okay to cry. Broken bones hurt, don't they?"

Harry nodded, breaking out into renewed wails at his uncle's soothing voice.

"Oh no, baby boy." Jess said, scurrying in behind Remus. "I settled Sammi in the sitting room and silenced the kitchen." She added.

Sirius winced at the implied meaning behind her silencing the kitchen. "Maybe we should just take him to a muggle hospital." He said, looking at the tear stained face of his Godson, his hair was a mess, soaked in sweat and sticking up everywhere. Now to be fair, Harry's thick black hair always stuck up everywhere but this was different. It was tangled and matted from sweat and tears. His face was red and raw, and still screwed up as he cried.

"They will do the same thing, just by hand and he will be in a cast for weeks, you know as well as I do that we can do this ourselves. Do you want to do the spell or hold him."

Sirius felt sick to his stomach, it was much different putting a five year old through this, than a fifteen year old. "Can we give him a pain potion first?"

"If he'll drink it." Jessalyn said, knowing Harry's distaste and refusal of potions. Acting on instinct she held out her arms and lifted him to her, she sat in the chair and cradled him into her lap. "Alright baby boy, do you think you can drink a potion for me? It will make it stop hurting." She tried.

"Nnnoooooo." He wailed.

Sirius huffed, what was it with this kid and potions? He was worse than James ever had been, and that was saying something. Remus was shaking his head, obviously remembering James fighting off the school nursemaid as well.

"Alright, alright. Just do it, he will be alright seconds after." She said, turning him so his back was to her chest.

"You're going to hold him?" Remus asked.

"One of you hold his arm, the other heal it, you will be able to hold it more still than me, I can hold him." She said over his crying.

Remus looked at Sirius who looked extremely pale. "Hold his arm. You can't let him go though."

Sirius nodded, his face set. "Just do it fast." He said. "Harry I am going to hold your arm and fix it and it won't hurt anymore alright. I promise it will be really fast."

"Nooooooo!" Harry cried.

If Sirius didn't know better, he would have thought that the kid had broken a bone before. As it was, he did know better, this was a first, hopefully the last.

"Alright Rem," he said, gritting his teeth. "Ok, Harry really fast little bit." He placed his hand on the little elbow and on his forearm, forcing it straight, to which Harry screamed and tried to pull it back, only causing him more pain. Remus snapped his wand quickly.

"Episky."

Harry's resulting scream as the bone snapped back into place just about killed Sirius. As soon as Remus lowered his wand Sirius scooped him out of Jessalyn's arms and held him tightly against him, cradling his head against his shoulder where he sobbed into his ear.

"Shhh look it's all done, see it doesn't hurt anymore, it's all done." He soothed as he bounced back and forth as he had when he was just small.

"Stop moving so I can put a cooling charm on it so it doesn't swell." Jessalyn ordered, Sirius obeyed.

After several minutes Harry's screams turned to hiccups and whimpers, Sirius carried him into the sitting room where both Jess and Remus were sitting with Sammi.

"Hey little boy, is it better?" Remus asked, Sammi in his lap.

Harry sniffled in reply, as Sirius sat on the couch with him in his lap. .

"Now, what happened?" Sirius asked since he had calmed down.

"It hurt." Harry whimpered.

Remus tried next, "We need to know how you hurt it."

"I wanted to fly." He said simply.

"Harry there wasn't a broom up there." Sirius pointed out.

"Without a broom. With magic. I wanted to fly with magic." He said with a shrug, his small shoulders falling in defeat.

"But you can't do magic whenever you want." Remus said. "You know that."

"I did magic before." Harry protested.

"Yes but you can't do it whenever you want honey. You don't have a wand, you can't make it happen." Jessalyn replied.

"But I wanna do it now. I am five! I go to school, I can do magic." He said stubbornly.

"Harry, how did you try to fly?" Sirius asked, the thought popping into his head, he then thought of where he had found him. "Did you climb onto that wardrobe and jump off?" he demanded. Harry pouted out his lip and looked at his hands. "You know better than that."

"I want to fly." He said firmly.

"Then you use a broomstick, you have three!" Remus spluttered.

"No, without a broom, I want to fly like a bird."

Jessalyn was desperately trying to hide her smirk at the two men arguing with the little boy.

"Then become an animagus and hope you have wings. But until then you keep your feet on the ground or your arse on a broom." Sirius said, exasperated.

"Great, just what we need him to do, trying to be an animagus." Remus grumbled.

"Well I need a faster broom." Harry argued.

"Fine." Sirius said

"No." Remus demanded.

They looked at each other and Remus shook his head. Sirius looked back down at a frowning Harry.

"No new brooms, you are grounded from flying." After three years of practically raising Harry together, Sirius and Remus had become quite good at understanding each other's parenting choices.

"But you said yes! Uncle Remmy doesn't even live with us anymore." Harry whined.

"But he is still right, no flying. Not for a while." Sirius said sternly, something that wasn't like him at all.

"Daddy."

"Don't daddy me to get out of trouble."

"Uncle Siri…"

"If you ever want to fly again you'll stop whining."

Harry quelled under Sirius' unyielding tone. His lip popping out, and tears welling in his eyes. He climbed from his lap and ran across the room, throwing himself at Jessalyn. She lifted him and hugged him.

"They're mean Auntie Jess."

She smirked at the pair of dumbfounded men in front of her.

"They are mean, not letting you fly." Sammi piped up in her seven years of wisdom.

"Samantha Jade!" Jessalyn castigated.

"I can't believe you called me mean." Remus pouted.

"Sorry , but it was your idea." She shrugged, and turned back to her book.

0o0o0o0o

That night Harry was playing with his dragons on the foot of his bed when Sirius came in to tuck him in. He looked as if he was simply idly moving the figures around but was deep in thought.

"Hey kiddo, how's your arm feeling?" he asked as he sat on the bed beside of him.

"Fine." Harry mumbled. Sirius knew that was a lie, his arm would be sore for several days. He himself had suffered several broken bones.

"You know you are going to get to fly again in just a couple of weeks." He tried to pacify. "But, only on a broom." He clarified.

Harry shrugged.

"If your arm feels fine, and you don't care about flying, then why do we seem so miserable?" he asked.

Harry continued to look at the toys that sat motionless in his hands. "Pourquoi est-ce que je ne peux pas vous appeler papa?" He responded quietly.

"I am not Uncle Remus, mate. I don't speak French. I understood papa, that's it. English if you would."

Harry bit his lip, he often slipped randomly into French thanks to Remus, and school, Sirius supposed. He had gone to nursery school at age three and was now in his first year of primary school, he heard and spoke a lot of French. Even if his primary language was English.

"Are you going to repeat that or do I need to floo my personal translator?" Sirius joked.

"Why can't I call you daddy?" Harry replied even quieter.

Sirius' breath caught in his throat. "I-I never said you couldn't. You have called me dad before."

"Uh-huh, today, you said not to call you daddy."

Sirius thought back to the hectic afternoon, he sighed when he realized what Harry was referring to. "I didn't mean you couldn't call me dad. I meant that you couldn't try and say it all whiney to get out of trouble by making me feel bad. You can't use Uncle Siri or Uncle Sirius that way either. I didn't mean you couldn't ever call me dad. You know that."

Harry shook his head. "But I don't call you dad. And you and Uncle Remus say you are uncle Sirius. "

Sirius smiled. "I am your Uncle Sirius, you have called me uncle since you were born. Just like you call Uncle Remus, uncle. But you have called me dad or daddy before, and I have never stopped you."

"How come Uncle Remmy moved away?"

"He only moved down the street." Sirius replied, startled at the change of pace.

"But why? Wasn't he happy here?"

"He was." Sirius said slowly. "But he loves Jess and wanted to live with her, they have been dating for a really long time. They wanted to live together."

"I thought you had to have a wedding to live together? That's what you said, that's why Mel doesn't live here with us even though you kiss her."

Sirius blanched, this was too deep a subject for a five year old. "They want to make sure they get along before they have a wedding. So they live together. Mel and I already know we get along."

"And Sammi?"

"Well of course, you don't think her mum would make her live in the street do you?"

"No…Do you think he wanted to live there because he likes Sammi more than me cause she doesn't get in trouble?"

Sirius let out an exasperated breath, where did he come up with this stuff? "I happen to know that Sammi gets in just as much trouble as you, usually with you. And of course he doesn't like you less, he is your uncle Remmy. He has always loved you."

"How come you are my Uncle Sirius if I live with you and you take care of me like a daddy?"

Sirius hated these conversations. Harry bounced back and forth between anything that had been bothering him. Paying attention to one single thing had never been his strong suit. Sirius felt like he was watching a fast paced game of toss the quaffle. These talks were becoming more and more frequent as Harry began to understand families, since making friends at school with children that lived in what was considered a normal family.

"Because your mummy and daddy died Harry, you know that too. And when they did, they gave you to me because I am your godfather. Before they died you called me Uncle Siri, when you moved here, that is what you knew me as and that is what you called me still, so we stayed with it. And I didn't want you to forget who your daddy was."

"James?"

Sirius nodded and pointed to the picture that was still stuck to the night table. "Right, James."

"But I don't rmember him. I rmember you."

"I know you don't remember him. You were too little. But he was so much fun, he would play on the floor with you and fly with you. He would help me sneak you sweets and biscuits. And your mum, she adored you. I don't think she sat you down for months after you were born. Jamie used to have to argue to get to hold you."

"Does it make you sad if I call you daddy?"

Sirius thought about it for a few minutes before deciding on an answer. He pulled him over and into his lap, his superman pajama shorts bunching and the bright blue shirt riding up. He pulled it back into place and laid his face against his freshly washed hair.

"No, it doesn't. Not anymore."

"Cause you've been like my daddy longer than he was my daddy?"

Sirius was pretty sure the kid was trying to kill him by way of grief. "No, because he has been your daddy since you were born, whether he was here with us or not. He will always be your daddy. It doesn't make me sad because I couldn't love you more even if I was James or Lily. I love you just like they did, so it doesn't make me sad."

"So unless I am being bad, I can call you daddy? And at school, I can tell them you are my daddy?"

"Harry, you can call me dad whenever you want, even if you are being bad."

The little boy nodded and pointed to the scab on his knee. "Look, I fell on the playground at school yesterday."

Delighted at the abrupt change of subject, he leapt on the topic at hand. "I see that." He then poked several fading bruises on his shins and knees. "You have so many bruises you could be a leopard."

Harry giggled. "It is from playing football. And quidditch."

"And trying to fly off of wardrobes?"

The little boy giggled harder. "Yup."

"It is bedtime little bit."

"Awe, but it's Saturday."

"And it is after ten, you are up far later than normal."

"Can I sleep with you tonight? In case my arm starts hurting?"

Sirius chuckled at the ploy. "But I am not going to bed yet. I have paperwork to finish."

"Well I guess if you needed me to, I could stay up a little bit so you could finish."

Breaking into laughter he lifted his precocious godson into his arms. "Tell you what, since it is Saturday, and I know your arm has to still be sore…If you will take a pain potion, you can watch the telly while I finish up, and then we will go to bed."

Harry made a face. "Can I have chocolate milk after the potion, and maybe a biscuit?"

Sirius grinned as he lifted him and carried him downstairs, remembering to grab Godric on the way. "I think that could be arranged. But only one biscuit."

"And I can sleep with you tonight?" Harry clarified.

"For tonight, but tomorrow it is back to your room."

He nodded his black hair flying about and hitting Sirius in the face. "And then we can play quidditch tomorrow?" Harry said stealthily.

Sirius laughed. "Not on your life, but good try."


	16. Chapter 16: Accidental Magic

**_Some of these scenes were pulled from _**

**_Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (or Sorcerer's Stone, depending) _**

**_I thought that some aspects should remain similar,_**

**_And they were funny so I embellished them a bit :)_**

**_I am not JKR!_**

Chapter Sixteen

**Accidental Magic**

"Uhm, Mr Evans…You have a phone call." Came through the speaker on his desk. He sighed, he really needed to get these files finished, he didn't want to take them home with him tonight.

"Can you take a message Claire? I really can't take a minute right now." He said quickly, letting go of the button and resuming his incessant scribbling.

"No, I'm sorry sir…It is your son's school, they said it was an emergency." She said in a nervous voice.

Sirius growled at the phone before pushing the intercom to reply. "You should have just started with that. I don't put my son on hold for anything." He snapped. He really needed to get out of this office. He wasn't an office kind of guy. He was an auror, an order member. He was the front of the line, throwing hexes and taking curses kind of guy. Not the sit at a desk, with a window overlooking the town, putting in numbers executive kind of guy. This was not Sirius Black. But this was Sirius Evans. Muggle. Lead accountant for the largest firm in the area. He had always been exceptionally good at arithmancy, this wasn't much different, it was far easier in fact. Stupid disguise, stupid. He picked up the black phone in trepidation, what was happening with Harry now?

"Can I help you?" he said gruffly into the phone.

"Oh, uhm, yes, I need, I need to speak to Mr. Evans, father of Harry Evans..."a nervous voice said in reply.

"I'm Sirius Evans. What can I do for you? Is Harry alright?"

"Oh, Mr Evans, I am so glad you were available. It took a minute and I was worried." She fretted, he vowed to fire his secretary.

"I am always available for my son." He said simply. "Now, is he alright?"

"Well, yes, in a manner of speaking. There has been an incident, and I don't really know how to explain it. It seems unbelievable." She rambled.

Sirius raised his eyebrows, this couldn't be good.

"Maybe you should just come here to the school. If you are able to that is."

He sighed, looked like he was taking work home afterall. "Of course, I will be right there. It takes me fifteen minutes from the office. Will he be alright until then?" a small pit of worry had blossomed in his chest.

"Oh, Oh yes, he will be fine, he will sit tight until you get here." She said in an odd voice.

He heard Harry speak angrily in the background. "That's not funny."

If he could speak then he wasn't too bad off. "Alright, I will be there in a few minutes."

He sat the phone down and stuffed the rest of his documents into his briefcase. He looked at Claire and her falsely blonde hair piled ontop of her overly made up head.

"I'll be out of the office for the rest of the day. I had a meeting with Paul-Henri Arnoult at 3:00, could you please call and reschedule for next week. And if you could call my sister in law Jessalyn and tell her that I do not in fact need her to get Harry today. After that you can set the recording and take the rest of the day off. Thank you." He said simply before heading to the lifts and going down.

Rather than walking he decided to step into an small alleyway and apparate to the school. As he walked through the gates of the playyard he pushed his hands through his hair, letting it fall free of the minimal gel he used on it that morning. He loosened his tie, and unbuttoned the top button. This, suit, business guy, wasn't the father figure that Harry responded to. This man scared him a bit, honestly this man scared Sirius a bit. He really hated this job. He made his way to the school office and stepped inside, the first thing he noticed, sitting in a desk, against the wall was a thoroughly miserable looking Harry. His face was propped up on his hands, making his cheeks look smashed. For a second, the once chubby cheeks of his toddler were discernible in the now scrawny, gangly, child.

Harry heard the door open and turned his torso to look, his eyes filled with tears at the sight of Sirius. Nope, this couldn't be good at all. He raised one eyebrow at the boy and then turned to the white haired woman behind the desk. "I am here for Harry." He said with a grin, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder."

The woman's eyes widened in shock slightly at his appearance. Apparently tycoon business executive daddy made everyone nervous.

"Oh, Mr. Evans. Let me get his teacher and headmaster for you." She bustled into a room down the hall behind her desk.

He turned and looked at his godson. "What did you do?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

Harry looked frantic "I don't know." He squeaked.

Sirius shook his head, he was reminded forcibly of James in moments like these, it gave him a pang of guilt for all the pair of them had put Mr. and Mrs. Potter through. "How can you not know?" he asked flatly.

Harry tried to squirm around but seemed frozen in fear. "Because I-" he started before the headmaster walked in, followed by a very pretty young muggle that Sirius knew from the classroom tour, was Harry's teacher.

He turned away from Harry and held out his hand, they shook it in turn.

"So to what do I owe this visit." He asked, a smile pasted on his face.

"Mr. Evans, I am so glad you got here in such good time. Well we have a bit of a situation." Headmaster Labarge said with a hint of a grin.

It made Sirius relax, it couldn't be that bad if the headmaster found it funny. Then again Dumbledore had been known to laugh at some of the insane things that he and James got up to. But Dumbledore was a touch barmy if you asked Sirius.

"I think that Miss. Hulett would be best served to tell us what is going on."  
The young brunette teacher flattened the front of her pinstriped skirt and spoke softly. "Well, Mr. Evans."

"Please, just call me Sirius, I hear Mr. Evans and don't even realize you are talking to me." He said amicably.

"Right, Sirius. Well we both know that Harry can be a bit rambunctious." She said gently.

Sirius chuckled and glanced at the now pouting boy. "If he is just a bit rambunctious then I am the king of England."

They all laughed, Harry huffed from his place against the wall, arms folded over his chest.

"Well, he was running about today, nothing I did brought him to attention. Finally I scolded him. I told him to sit his backside in his chair and if he moved it again I was calling you. Well he did sit, immediately, but when it was time for us to go out to the playground, well he couldn't get up. He somehow managed to glue himself, very effectively I might add, into his seat. I can only assume he was going to play a prank on someone else and it backfired."

Sirius actually let out a bark like laugh before walking over to the small desk and kneeling beside it. "Playing pranks?" he asked.

Harry was scowling. "No. I was sitting down."

He chuckled and put his hands under Harry's arms and tried to lift him. He didn't budge. His own eyes widened as understanding hit, this was not a prank gone bad, this was accidental magic in its finest. Thinking quickly he obliviated the memory of the teacher and the headmaster standing a bit away from him, ever thankful that they had drilled the memory charms into the brains of all aurors. He pointed his wand at Harry, who flinched, before suddenly feeling the chair release him. He stood up looking adoringly up at Sirius, who was now thanking the teacher and shaking the headmaster's hand again.

"Thank you so much for thinking quickly and using the glue remover. I'll take care of his classroom behavior as well. He will see you in the morning. Thank you for understanding, he won't be playing anymore wayward pranks."

"But! BUT I!" Harry tried to argue before being silenced by Sirius' best business man look. He shrank into his side, nearly disappearing behind Sirius' legs.

"It-it wasn't a problem at all Mr. Evans, we will see you another time, and Harry tomorrow." The headmaster said, slightly confused.

Harry remained quiet until they were off the school grounds and Sirius started laughing, he felt himself be lifted high into the familiar arms.

"Congrats little bit. That was your first lesson in exposing the wizarding world. Now do you want to tell me how you accidentally stuck yourself to your chair?" he chuckled.

"I-I-I I'm not in trouble?" Harry asked, stunned.

"No way! You can't be in trouble for accidental magic, it isn't like you can control it."

Harry was astounded. "But running around in the classroom." He stammered.

Sirius laughed harder. "Are you kidding, while it is important to sit and learn and to respect your teachers, I can't punish you for something I myself had trouble with myself. Jamie couldn't sit still in lessons either. Just wait until you get to Hogwarts and meet McGonagall, I guarantee you that any gray hairs you see are there because of me James and Remus. Now what happened?" he asked as he sat him down and they started their walk to their house.

"She said to sit my bum down and not move it again or else she was calling my dad. I didn't want her to call you, so I sat down and swore I wouldn't move. So I didn't. And then it was time to go play and I couldn't." he pouted. "What happened?"

"That Harry, was accidental magic."

0o0o0o0o0o

"Mr. Evans. It's your son's school." His new secretary's voice came through the intercom.

Sirius shook his head, this was the fourth call in 6 weeks. Harry's magic had come in with a bang…Sometimes literally.

"Tell them I'm on my way." He said simply, not bothering to pick up the other line. It was a good thing his job was flexible and he could take work home. Who knew raising a little wizard would be so complicated.

He walked out of the office and waived to the brunette at behind the desk. "You know the drill, all meetings, and conferences, leave the new schedule on my desk." He said over his shoulder as he stepped onto the lift.

Walking into the primary school's office was always nerve wracking these days, he had been there so often that he was on a first name basis with the staff.

"Hi, Sirius." The light haired headmaster said with a smile, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Hey Gerald. What did he do now?"

"I don't know how he did this. I really don't. You-You have to see it." He said, shaking his head.

Sirius sighed and followed the man into the back offices, he walked in to the office labeled Headmaster and his jaw dropped. He quickly bit his lip to stop his laughter. Standing, looking furious was Harry's teacher, complete with blue hair. And Harry was standing against the wall, his face in his hands.

"I-I-I What happened?" Sirius stuttered, looking from the mortified and angry woman to his equally mortified and scared son.

Before he had more memories to wipe he muttered a nonverbal color change charm, making her hair flash back to its normal color, cast an itching jinx and then cast another memory charm.

With in seconds she was wiggling at scratching at her arms.

"I am so sorry he put itching powder on your chair. Really, I don't know what has gotten into him. I am almost afraid that my mum was right and my son is ten times worse than I ever was." He said with a grim smile.

"It's quite alright. Harry, I have about had enough of this pranking." The headmaster said sternly.

Harry looked at his feet. "Yes sir." He whispered before being led from the school by the hand.

"Daddy! I didn't mean to!" he wailed.

"BLUE HAIR!" Sirius hissed.

Harry shrugged, "I don't know, I wasn't even mad, it just happened, I don't even know how she knew it was me!" he whined. "She's pickin on me."

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "It was you."

"Yeah, but SHE didn't know that." He huffed.

0o0o0o

"How in the love of…How did he get on the roof!" Sirius blustered staring at Harry who did have scratched up knees and a bloody lip.

"Best we can tell a few older boys were picking on him and he was running, thus the scrapes and the lip, next thing we knew he was on the roof." Colleen said with a sigh. "The boys that were picking on him have been taken out of school for the remainder of the week. I thought you should know."

Sirius nodded and looked at Harry who still had tears on his face. "I think the wind caught me." He said through his swollen lip, eyes wide.

This time Sirius thought he might could get away without a memory charm. They seemed so distressed about the bullying that they overlooked Harry being on the roof.

0o0o0o0o

Sirius was sitting on the sofa around noon on a Friday when an owl, one he recognized to be a ministry owl, swooped through his open window. He opened the sealed envelope and sighed. He yelled up the stairs at Harry who was playing. They had come home early today after the lunch room attendant had tried to force Harry to eat Shepherds Pie and it had exploded in her face.

"Harry, get your little wizard bum down here, we have to go somewhere for the afternoon!" He called up the stairs.

Harry came down the stairs two at a time. He had changed from his school uniform into a pair of muggle jeans and a purple Pride of Portree tshirt.

"Where we goin?" he asked, Godric trailing behind him by the tail.

"Apparently we are going to the Ministry of Magic in London. To explain why I have charmed so many muggles lately." He said, eyes narrowed.

Harry shuffled his feet. "While we're there….Do you think we could go to see Godric's Hollow too?" he asked softly.

Sirius' voice caught in his throat, he looked out the window, it would be much colder in London. "It is end of November Harry. It is going to be awfully cold." He hedged. He hadn't yet taken the boy to the cottage, or the graves, he had just never really shown an interest.

"I will wear a coat, and your old Gryffindor scarf. Oooohhh can we visit Hogwarts?" he asked, getting more excited by the minute.

"Well that, I can tell you with certainty is a no. And if we get out of the ministry before night fall we will go to Godric's Hollow."

Harry frowned, "If we don't can we go tomorrow?"

Sirius sighed in response. "Yes, if we don't we will go tomorrow. I promise."

"What about Diagon Alley? Oooohhhh or Hogsmede?" He was literally bouncing now.

Sirius laughed. "What if we go to the ministry, I contact Dumbledore while we are there, and we go by what he thinks? If we go tomorrow I can probably get Uncle Remus on board with Jess and Sammi. And while we are at the ministry today we can stop and see Mel and ask her to come. Maybe she would let us just stay at her flat so we don't have to travel in the morning." He knew that would be a wrap, and easy to do. Mel had been begging him to bring Harry to her place for at least a year, she even had her guest room set up for him. Maybe it was time, Harry seemed ready after all.

Harry spun in a circle, making Godric fly. Happiness was alight on every plane of his face, he had always wanted to go to London, the place his dad and mum and uncles were from. "YAY!" he squealed to the lion. "We're going to London, we're going to London. "


	17. Chapter 17: London

**_Thank you for reading and reviewing_**

**_From here on out I will be updating about once a week_**

**_As we get into the bulk of the story updating daily or even several times a day is rather difficult_**

**_Thanks for understanding :) _**

Chapter Seventeen

**London**

Sirius stepped out of the large ornate fireplace lining the floo hall of the ministry, Harry held tightly on his hip. He sat the boy down and pointed his wand at him, after all, he didn't want him to appear dirty or not taken care of, though the tattered and stained Lion that Harry held clenched by the tail was a lost cause. He was decidedly woebegone. After ensuring that they were both clean and presentable he lifted Harry back into his arms, settling him on his hip and walking towards the security desk.

"Daddy, I wanna walk! I am five, too big for you to carry me." Harry whined, wiggling about in his arms.

Sirius shook his head, normally, he would have had Harry walk. Actually, that had been a battle with Harry. Until several months ago he wanted to be carried, even years later he was still rather clingy and nervous if he thought you were going to leave him. It surprised Sirius that he wanted to walk here, where he knew no one. Honestly, Sirius didn't mind carrying his small charge around. In fact, he rather enjoyed it, it wasn't difficult in the least. Even after picking up a substantial amount of weight since coming to live with Sirius he was James' son, and James had been small for his age until his sixth year. Lily had been rather small too, so it wasn't surprising that Harry was closer to the size of a four year old rather than a five and a half year old. But when he wiggled around like he was doing, it still presented a challenge.

"Sorry little bit, not here. You will stay right where you are or I will call Uncle Remmy to come take you right back home. If you are in my arms you are safe, so park it, sit still and paste a smile over that pouty face."

Harry fell silent, instead of losing the pout he poked out his lip and crossed his arm. Sirius sighed and continued on, trying to ignore the looks of recognition from the people walking by. He knew they didn't recognize Harry straight off, but he had been a well-known auror and one of the four miscreants that made up the marauders, anyone that went to school during his time at Hogwarts knew him. As such, since everyone knew who he was, and that he had custody of Harry, they immediately knew who the boy pouting in his arms was. He made his way to the counter and to the shocked looking man.

"Well I'll be, if it isn't Sirius Black!" he said with a smile. "It's been a long time since you graced us with your presence."

Sirius smiled slightly, nodding his head. "Hey Ned, yeah, it's been a while." He said, handing over his wand to be registered.

Ned printed out the paper and handed the wand back. "And this little rascal must be Harry, wow he looks like James." He said, shaking his head.

Harry cocked his head at the man and Sirius felt his grip tighten on his robes, it felt odd to be wearing wizard robes again, rather than his business attire or his muggle jeans.

"Harry, this is Ned, are you going to say hi?" Harry remained tight lipped and shook his head, he pulled Gryf tightly to his chest. Ned laughed and smiled in understanding. "Sorry, he is a bit shy around people he doesn't know."

"No problem at all Sirius. It was good seeing you."

Sirius nodded and walked past, heading towards the lifts. When they reached the MLE corridor Sirius was slightly overwhelmed with the amount of people who stopped him as he walked down the hall. Granted this had been his old stomping ground. He and James had spent nearly as much time here as they did at home. Maybe more right before James went into hiding. If he was overwhelmed it was nothing to how Harry felt. Everyone wanted to see him. Many of the aurors and hit wizards had never seen the boy who lived before, the ones that had, hadn't seen him since he was less than a year old, before he had been taken into hiding. His arms were wrapped around Sirius' neck and his face was buried in his shoulder. This was the Harry that he was used to in public, though this reaction, was perhaps more severe than in France, but he was never subject to attention like this in France either. Sirius rubbed small circles on his back while trying to politely excuse himself form the seven or more people that were attempting to greet him and catch up.

"What is going on here? Break it up and get back to your cases." A gruff voice said. Sirius turned towards his mentor.

"Moody!" he said with a genuine smile and a sigh of relief.

The grizzled man patted him on the back. "Well if it isn't one of my best two trainees ever." He said sincerely. "I was expecting you. I got the notice that you had to appear in the control of memory charms office." He began to walk to said department. Sirius fell into step beside him.

Sirius nodded towards Harry. "Someone came into their magic with a vengeance. To the point that I feel badly for his teachers. I am at that school at least once a week." He sighed.

Moody laughed. "I don't know what you expected of him, son of James Potter and Lily Evans, not to mention he is always subject to your own magic and Remus'. The amount of power that his own magical core is subjected to on a daily basis will strengthen and bring out his magic. Which is already, likely rather strong. You know, none of the four of you were what I would call mediocre wizards. You don't stand a chance against this little one."

Sirius chuckled, "Unfortunately neither do his teachers. Hopefully the department understands."

"I don't think you will have a problem with it. Well here you are, I believe Dumbledore is inside waiting for you. It was good seeing you back here Black."

Sirius smiled, he should have known Dumbledore would be here. "Thanks. It actually feels good to be back here. Even in light of the current situation." He said, and walked through the black door into the offices beyond.

Inside was a small office with a desk, where sat the head of the department. "Ah, Mr. Black I am glad you made it in good time. Have a seat please." He said nodding to the chair beside of Dumbledore who was beaming at him and Harry. He sat, placing Harry on his lap, who tried to keep his face hidden from both of the other men.

"I have most of your documents filled out. The letter you received is automatically sent out after so many infractions, for some reason your custody documents didn't affect it. Usually parents of small children who are in a muggle school are given a bye on this sort of thing. I do have to ask you for your account though, and why you didn't contact a ministry approved obliviator. And then get your signature to update our documents."

Sirius told of each of the instances he could remember, and tried to remember the back story he had given that specific muggle. "I'm going to be honest, I am pretty sure there are more than that, but it is almost like he started with the magic, and it just is nonstop. I really didn't know what else to do about it, aside from pulling him from school, and I can't exactly do that given that he needs to appear to be a muggle. Obviously I didn't call the obliviators because we are undercover and no one in this ministry knows or is going to be told, our location, for the boy's security, I am sure you understand."

"This matter has been covered, and vouched for by the custodial courts already. I have already presented documentation." Dumbledore said simply, pointing to the silver folder under the man's hand.

"Yes, that has already been presented, basically Mr. Black, this case has been covered and closed quickly, but your presence in this room was mandatory, though now that all of the custody papers are filed and linked, you won't have this issue again."

Sirius nodded and signed the papers that were pushed his way, all in all, it had been quick and fairly painless. Once the papers were signed and filed he was excused and followed his old headmaster out of the office. They walked together to the lifts.

"Thank you for settling all of that before I even got here." Sirius said.

Dumbledore nodded. "Of course. You shouldn't even have gotten a notification at all. Alastor contacted me when he got the message. I came right away. So, will the pair of you be heading back home?"

"Actually, I had planned to contact you to ask your opinion on that matter." He adjusted Harry so he was sitting more upright, trying to force him to look at the older man. "Harry here, wanted to go to Godric's Hollow to the cemetery, he has never been. He also asked if we could see Diagon Alley. I was thinking of taking him, if he still wants to go that is. This seemed to be a bit much for him to take in, not that I can blame him in the least."

Harry's head popped up so fast you would think that he had been charmed awake. "I still want to go!" he said suddenly.

A wry smile appeared on Dumbledore's wizened face. "Ahh, hello there Harry, I was beginning to think I wasn't going to get to talk you."

Harry just looked at him.

"Professor, this is Harry. Harry this is professor Dumbledore. You have heard all about him." Sirius said.

"You live at Hogwarts." Harry said in awe, with all of Sirius' stories about the marauders he was rather fascinated with the school of magic.

Dumbledore's eyes sparkled. "I do."

"You knew my daddy in school." He stammered, eyes wide. "Both of them. And uncle Remmy, and my mummy."

Dumbledore nodded, "I did."

"WOW!" he said admiration plain on his face.

"I don't think it would be a problem to take him out. In fact I think it highly unlikely for anyone to try anything with you out and about in wizarding London. The penalties are too severe now, nothing has been seen or heard of in nearly 3 years about that particular danger, and there are too many of us that regard him as something of a hero for someone to make an out and out attack. I think it would be safe enough. After all, with all the protections, it isn't as if anyone can follow you back home either, so I am certain that everything will be fine."

"Can we go to Hogwarts?" Harry asked again excitedly.

"Not during term, there are students there." Sirius said in exasperation.

"Please Daddy! I love it there!" Harry begged. Dumbledore smiled when Sirius replied to the term of endearment naturally.

"You haven't even ever been there."

"But I KNOW I will love it." The five year old said with a whine.

"I know you will too." The professor said, still smiling. "What if you and your dad come visit us over the summer holiday? I know that Professor McGonagall misses your daddy dearly."

Sirius laughed out loud as they stepped onto the lift. "I am so sure she does."

He and Harry bid Dumbledore farewell and got off on Melanie's floor, they headed towards her office. It was a Friday, which meant that she would be in the office unless there was an emergency that she had to attend to. When he made it to her door it was cracked and he could see her just beyond, sitting at her desk, looking at a file. He rapped on the door with his free hand.

"Knock, Knock." He said with a grin.

She looked up, startled. "Sirius! Harry! I tried to floo you when I saw Dumbledore here having files pulled but you had already left, I was hoping you'd stop by here."

"AUNTIE MEL!" Harry shouted, and began struggling to get down. Finally, Sirius obliged, letting him run to her.

He ran around the desk and jumped into her lap where she instantly caught him and kissed his head.

"Hey little love. How are you today?" she said nestling her face into his hair.

"M' good, I gotsto come to London and daddy says we can go see Godric's Hollow where my mummy and other daddy is at and he said if we aks you really nice and I promise to be good that maybe we can stay all night with you and you will come with us to see Diagon Alley tomorrow. Can we stay all night with you?" he said, all in one breath.

She looked up at Sirius who was grinning as he sat on the side of her desk. "What d'you say Auntie Mel? Do you want to have a sleepover with us so we don't have to stay at the Leaky Cauldron? Of course we would be honored if you would join us in muggle London for a nice dinner tonight before spending the day with us at Diagon Alley and Godric' Hollow tomorrow."

She didn't miss the slight plea in his voice, she was rather stunned. She had been trying to convince him to bring Harry to her flat for nearly a year, and he never took anyone, not even Remus with him to Godric's Hollow.

"Auntie Mel?" Harry said in his little voice.

She wiped the look of surprise off of her face. "Of course, of course you can stay with me. I don't get off for a few hours though, but you are welcome to go ahead to the flat." She said, her smile getting bigger by the minute.

"Since we are staying, and we brought nothing with us, I think we will head into London and pick up some clothes and stuff to stay the night. We will meet you at your place around six." He said, motioning for Harry to join him.

"You know, if you want, you can get enough stuff to stay for the entire weekend." She hinted.

Sirius smiled as he took Harry's hand. "It would make more sense than all three of us heading back to my place for Saturday night and Sunday wouldn't it?" he replied. For the last two years she spent most Saturday nights and all day Sunday with him at his place. Oftentimes Remus, Jess, and Sammi were there for Sunday too. Of course, before he moved out, Remus was usually there on Sundays.

"YAY! We get to stay ALL weekend!" Harry yelped excitedly much to Sirius and Melanie's amusement.

-oo- -oo- -oo-

Melanie answered the door quickly when Sirius knocked several hours later. He smiled brilliantly when he saw her tight dark jeans and bright blue blouse. He was carrying several bags so he leaned forward and kissed her, still holding Harry's hand firmly in his own.

"You look amazing." He said.

"I had to look my best if I was going to be going on a date with two handsome men." She replied bending and lifting Harry into a hug. "Hey lovie, would you like to see your room? Your daddy can drop your bags in there."

"I have a room?" he said excitedly, bouncing on the spot.

She laughed as they all walked into the sitting room. "You sure do. Come on, I'll show you."

After convincing Harry that he could play with the new toys in his room after shopping tomorrow, they managed to get him dressed and out to Sirius and Mel's favorite ltalian restaurant down the road, the one they often went to when Remus kept Harry for the night so they could go on a date. He had insisted on sitting beside Mel through dinner and somehow managed to eat more of her food than his own. After their meal was finished, Sirius caved at both Harry and Mel's pleading and they went to a late showing of ET at the cinema. Which Harry fell asleep watching, about half way through. After carrying him home, since it was only a few blocks away, Sirius stripped the half asleep child and put him to bed in his "new room". When he pulled the covers over him Harry opened his eyes halfway.

"Are you sleepin in here with me?" he asked, yawning through the end.

Sirius sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed his hair down, well tried to. "No, I will be asleep across the hall. You are sleeping in here, in your new bed."

"But…I never slept here before." He protested.

Sirius smiled and kissed his head. "Might as well get used to it now kiddo."

"Can Auntie Mel come tuck me in too? Like she does when she stays at our house?" he asked, craning his neck to look around his Godfather.

Sirius smiled, "Sure thing, she is just in the sitting room, let me go get her." He stood and walked out of the room he glanced back at Harry's whimper of protest at being left alone. "I'll just be a second, you will be alright." He said in a soothing voice before disappearing around the doorframe.

He headed into the sitting room where Melanie was standing looking out the window. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the side of her head. "You presence is being requested in the dragon room." He saw her smile in the reflection cast in the large window and ran his fingers through a strand of her golden-brown hair. "He wants you tuck him in, but let me warn you, he is angling for a sleeping partner at the very least, if he gets off a full pout he will want to sleep in your room. Good luck, I'll be waiting here for you." She giggled and kissed his cheek before heading into the room where Harry was waiting.

"Hey cutie, I thought you were sleeping." She said softly, coming to sit on the edge of the bed.

"I'm scared." He said quietly. "I haven't ever not slept in my house."

He was right. This was the first time since Sirius carried him into his house that he was not sleeping there. Even when Remus kept him overnight every once in a while they always stayed at Sirius and Harry's house because of the wards. "That's true, but there's nothing to be scared of, you are here in my house, in a room that was set up just for you. Your daddy is here, and I am here, nothing to be scared of. You are just as safe here as you are at home."

He bit his bottom lip and worried the ragged tail of his faithful dragon. Seeing the nerves on his little face she scooted back and laid him down with his head in her lap and began to play with his hair. He lay there still, watching the light up stars and moons that lit up and spun around the walls.

She began to speak softly to the sleepy little boy, "You know tomorrow we are going to go to Diagon Alley, and we are going to meet Uncle Remus, Jess and Sammi at the ice cream parlor after lunch. We are going to go to Gringotts and knowing Sirius we will go to the quidditch shop, and I bet we can get a good trip to the toy shop out of him too." Harry had not responded, his eyes fluttering ever so slightly as he fought sleep. Instead of continuing their one sided conversation she started to sing the same soft song she usually sang to him when she got to tuck him in, while she ran her fingers through his silky ever messy hair.

"He won." Came Sirius' voice from the door. She looked up to see him leaning against the door frame, his button down untucked and unbuttoned and his perfectly white undershirt showing, his red tie was hanging loose around his neck and his belt was hanging undone in the belt loops of his jeans.

"No, but he is asleep." She whispered.

Sirius smiled and walked over, he helped her move Harry so he was on the pillow and she could climb off the bed. Sirius closed the door behind them most of the way, leaving a small crack open, just as he did at home. He walked over to the counter where Mel was standing, leaning with her back against it. He placed his hands on her hips, letting his fingers slip under the bottom hem of her shirt.

"He will be up no later than eight, and that is pushing it, what do you say we follow his example and move this party to bed?"

0o0o0o

His watch read 4:47 when he looked down at it with bleary eyes after hearing the bedroom door creak open. Sirius lifted his head to see Harry standing in the doorway, holding Godric with his little lip pouted out.

"Daddy?" he whispered.

Sirius was instantly thankful that he had the insight to put his boxers back on and that Mel had slipped into a pair of stretchy pants and his undershirt before falling to sleep.

"Hey little boy, why are we up and about?" he asked, trying to stifle a yawn.

"I'm scared, I had a bad dream about the green again." Harry answered, his lip trembling.

Sirius felt Mel move her head from his chest to the pillow.

"Come on little man." She mumbled, sliding over to make a space between herself and Sirius. Harry scurried around the bed and climbed over her, settling between them on top of the blanket. Sirius sighed and silently summoned the blanket from Harry's bed, which he threw over him before rolling and wrapping his arm around the five year old.

"Sleep." He whispered into his ear, but to his surprise, Harry had already fallen back to sleep, Melanie's hair twisted into his fingers the way he usually twirled Sirius'. He smiled softly over the pair, both sound asleep, that quickly, and let his own eyes fall back closed.

0o0o0o0o

The morning had turned out to be clear, though cold. Harry was completely wrapped in scarves a jumper and a coat, mittens on his hands and boots on his feet as they apparated directly into the cemetery of Godric's Hollow. They walked the path he was so familiar with, the now accustomed hitch settling into his throat and the twinge pulling at his insides. It was a bit worse today than it had been in recent months, it was harder to see Harry here, and harder to not be alone. He realized with a pang that it had been right at four years since he had taken Harry home with him. He came to a stop in front of the white stone and pointed, releasing Harry's hand.

"Right here. This is them." He said gruffly.

Without preamble Harry sat directly onto the grave, placing both of his hands on the headstone. It was both the most pitiful and beautiful thing Sirius had ever seen. He watched silently as Harry took his little finger and traced the names.

"L-I-L-Y P-O-T-T-E-R…J-A-M-E-S P-O-T-T-E-R. Just like two of my names." He said, looking up at Sirius, who was kneeling at the foot of the grave, Mel was standing behind him.

"They are, they are just like your names." Sirius replied.

"They are under here?" Harry asked, cocking his head to the side and trying to look behind the stone.

Sirius looked lost, he wasn't sure how to explain this to a five year old child. Luckily Melanie stepped in. She walked over and sat to the side of the headstone, so she was looking Harry in the eyes.

"When somebody dies Harry, they pass the veil, and they can't come back. But all of their love and hopes and dreams still live in whoever they leave behind. So even though you don't see them, they are in your heart, and they are always with you. This is just a place that we come before we pass the veil too so that we can remember them and leave them flowers, and remind ourselves how much we love them and miss them."

Harry nodded, Sirius wasn't sure he understood, but he was at least considering it. No one said anything for a while until Harry turned back and looked at Sirius.

"What's it like to have a mummy?" he asked, his eyes wide and questioning.

Sirius stared at him, mouth agape, he really should have made Remus do this.

"Well, it's…I mean it's." he didn't really have a frame of reference for a mother when he was young, his only good mother figure had been Mrs. Potter and that had been after he was twelve. He ran through his memories furiously, thinking of everything he had seen her or Lily do. "Well, they tuck you in, and they sing to you, they read you stories and kiss boo-boo's, they worry about you and fuss when you are naughty. They give really soft hugs and cook the best food in the whole world." He said.

Harry looked back down at the stone, and pulled up a blade of grass, something Sirius had been known to do himself. "You do lots of that stuff." Harry said gently.

"I try." Sirius replied honestly.

"You don't sing to me. And you give good hugs, squeezy ones, but they aren't soft." Harry said with all the honesty of a child.

Sirius chuckled.

"But Mel sings me to sleep sometimes. And her hugs are really soft."

"She does give good hugs." Sirius conceded.

"And when she is with me she tucks me in and tells me stories."

Sirius and Melanie just looked at each other, pretty sure where he was going with this. "How's come she's not my mummy?"

Sirius winced, maybe Harry hadn't been old enough for this, again it was Melanie who answered the question. "I can't be your mummy. Your mummy was so perfect and she did everything she could to keep her perfect baby safe, no one can replace her." She said softly.

"But I call uncle Sirius, daddy." Harry argued, "And he acts like a daddy, a good daddy. He does all the stuffs he's supposed to. I have two daddies."

It astounded Sirius that here, in the actual presence of James and Lily's final resting place that Harry naturally reverted to Uncle Sirius, as if he understood that this was his mum and dad. It was bittersweet in the very least.

"Yes, and Uncle Sirius is a fantastic daddy, you are right. But a mummy has to be married to the daddy." She said simply, hoping that would close the subject.

"Well, let's do that then." Harry said with a nod, as if that made it final.

Sirius laughed lightly at the look on his long time girlfriend's face, he knew how uncomfortable the position she had put herself in was. Harry did it to him all of the time. He decided to step in to save her as he thought about everything Harry had said.

"It isn't quite that simple little bit. But what if, after this weekend, we come here and stay with Auntie Mel more often, and maybe, if both of us are really good, she will start coming and staying with us a lot more."

"What's a lot more?" Harry asked, inquisitive as ever.

Melanie was looking at Sirius dumbfounded, this was a bigger step in their rather casual relationship. "Well maybe she will come stay with us three or four days every week."

Harry bounced around on his knees, Sirius knew it was a low blow using Harry to basically ask her to move forward in a relationship that he had intentionally kept on hold but it seemed right in the moment.

"Ooooh yes! Will you? I will even try not to do magic in school anymore!" Harry plead.

"How about we talk about it over lunch?" Mel said diplomatically, standing and brushing off her jeans. "I am afraid you are going to freeze out here."

Harry stood quickly and took her hand, pulling her quickly from the grave before turning and looking back, talking to the frozen ground as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Bye Mummy, bye Daddy."

Sirius bit his bottom lip as he watched Mel be lead away. He sighed and took a last look at the headstone. "And there is your ever precocious five year old son."


	18. Chapter 18: New Developments

**_In case you got an alert,_**

**_I had to edit the last several chapters._**

**_I accidently transposed Harry's lion Godric,_**

**_For James' (NEXT GEN &ATTSR) dragon Gryf…_**

**_Whooops sorry about that if you caught it :) _**

**_I was doing a reread of both and it hit me._**

**_I also added a few lines to chapter 5 to show that Sirius is joking about going broke._**

**_Sorry this took so long, I have been really sick and couldn't update._**

**_I am not JKR._**

Chapter Eighteen

**New Developments**

After much begging and convincing on Sirius' part, Remus, Jess, and Sammi all joined them in Diagon Alley. Jessalyn looked like she was going to have a nervous breakdown at the thought of returning to London with her daughter. But, Remus had reminded her that Sammi was in no more danger than Harry, in fact she was likely in much less. They were all sitting having ice cream at Florean's, both kids were prattling on to each other about who had done the coolest underage magic and the adults were talking amongst themselves when Harry's voice carried over and changed the topic of the conversation.

"And I asked and now she is going to marry him and be my mummy."

Sirius spat out his pumpkin juice, he was coughing and spluttering. Remus, looking rather stunned was pounding him on the back.

"You're going to what?" Jessalyn said, smiling at Melanie.

"No, that isn't at all what we said." Melanie defended.

"Yuh huh! You said!" Harry argued.

Melanie shook her head and wiped the strawberry chocolate icecream from his chin. "No, we said, we would talk about me staying a few extra days a week, we never said anything about getting married."

"But daddy said that you couldn't live with us till you were married, to live with us you have to marry him, and you said a mummy has to be married to a daddy." He protested.

Remus couldn't hold back his laughter. Harry had definitely inherited his mother's tenacity and all of his father's tact, as well as Sirius' bluntness.

"Harry this is more of an at home conversation." Sirius practically begged.

Harry shrugged and fell silent, he returned to looking around the alley at the different sights before him.

"Can we go look at brooms?" he asked suddenly, changing the subject.

"You already have three brooms." Sirius replied, shaking his head.

"What if a new grown up broom commed out? You don't want to see?" Harry weedled.

"Good point." Sirius conceded as he stood and held out his hand. Remus chuckled, Harry could manipulate his Godfather better than anyone else.

After a day of looking around, and much sidestepping of people who recognized Sirius and Remus, and much to Jessalyn's distress, several people that remembered her from school. And even someone that mentioned Michael to her while Sirius was trying to pick Harry up and out of the way, while a group of reporters outside of The Profit were trying to fuss over him. At that point, Remus called a halt to their afternoon and they all went back to Mel's for the afternoon and Dinner together where Harry fell asleep in his seat and Sammi's head was dropping forward into her plate.

"I think it might be time to call it a night." Jessalyn giggled when Harry's cup of juice fell over and poured across his spot, he slept through it.

Everyone laughed as Sirius stood and lifted him into his arms and carried him to his room to change his clothes and get him in bed.

"Come on little girl, let's get home and get settled for the night." Remus said, holding his hands out to the almost eight year old.

"I wanna stay with Harry." She whined, stomping her foot.

"You will see him on Monday, he is coming over after classes. He is staying here with Mel tonight." Jessalyn argued, eyeing her daughter sternly. She was exceedingly uncomfortable the longer they stayed in London.

"But Muuuummmm, Uncle Sirius can bring me home in the mornin like he does at home if I stay with him."

"No." Jessalyn said finally.

Knowing that an argument was brewing within the stubborn child, Remus picked her up from her seat and walked her towards the door. They were going to apparate from the alleyway. "Come on little miss, I think we have pushed your mum enough for one night."

"Plleeeaaasssseee." In her sleepy state Sammi got rather whiney on her best days, after a day of traveling, seeing new things, being bustled about by strangers, her mum and Sirius both being wound so tightly and so nervous that they were near a breakdown, she could give Harry a run for his money.

"Nnnnooooooo." Remus replied in the same tone as he placed his hand on the door handle, waiting for his girlfriend to join him.

They left for their own home in France a few minutes after Sirius returned from tucking Harry in, all four adults were nearly as worn out as the kids were. After getting out of the shower Sirius made his way to the living room, his towel flung over his shoulder, wearing an old pair of pajama pants. He settled onto the sofa beside his girlfriend of three years.

"So." He said lamely.

She grinned. "So."

"You're going to move in and become a mummy?"

"Well, according to Harry I am. I guess that all depends on what you want me to do though." She replied.

He looked at her, she was resolutely refusing to make eye contact. "Mel, for once, I want to know what you want. Not what Harry wants, not what I want. What do you want?"

"I don't know how great of a mum I would be Sirius, I never planned on being a mum." She said nervously. "I never planned on getting married. What if I am rubbish at it?"

He smiled his easy smile when she finally met his gaze. He remembered some of the same thoughts when he faced getting Harry all those years ago. "Well first off, I don't remember proposing marriage, I asked you to move in with us. So, you don't need to worry about all that, being rubbish at marriage nonsense. Though, I think that is a highly unlikely possibility either way. Secondly, I don't think Harry expects you to do anything different than what you already do Mel. You don't have to suddenly become a mummy. You forget, he doesn't know what a mummy does or doesn't do, he doesn't remember. You could paint his arms purple every Tuesday and for all he knows that's what a mummy does, and he would be happy about it. There aren't any expectations of you at all on either front. It would simply be spending more time with us than you already do. But Mel, you don't have to. It won't change anything if you don't. We will love you just the same, either way."

"You will what?" she said dumbly.

It took him a moment to realize what he had said. He kissed her temple and spoke against her skin. "We will, and we do. Both of us do. We love you very much. Harry loves you. I love you…Very, very much."

She turned so that their foreheads were leaning against each other. "Do you want me to come?"

"I do." He whispered.

"Then I guess the question is what days do you want me there?"

"Well, I was thinking, and if you want to do half the week that is fine, but, you know, you are welcome to come live with us all the time, not just four days a week."

"What would I do with this place?" she asked, looking around.

He shrugged. "Keep it, that way if you need to stay for business you can. Or if you need to get away from the little minion, or rather if we need to get away together." He said with a grin. "Not to mention, I am sure when he goes off to Hogwarts we would rather be in London than France."

She stared at him for a minute in awe. The Sirius that she started dating three years ago wouldn't have dreamed a year into the future with a girl, now he was talking about five and six years from now. He had told her he loved her. Her head was swimming. She said the only thing she could think of.

"I love you too, both of you."

0o0o0o0o0o

Two weeks later Harry was bouncing around the living room while Remus and Sirius flooed back and forth with the things that Melanie was bringing with her. She was currently in the kitchen cooking lunch and laughing with Jessalyn while Sammie colored and Harry ran amok.

"You're moving here, you're moving HERE!" he continued to squeal excitedly.

Melanie and Jessalyn laughed as they heard Sirius mutter to Remus as they passed the entryway of the kitchen together "You're sure we aren't allowed to silence him for an hour or so, we could always just pen him in his room and put up a muflliato around our selves…"

"I am pretty sure they frown on that sort of activity Padfoot, but far be it for me to be able to try and stop one of your schemes."

Both men stopped in their tracks briefly. It had been a very long time since either of them had used one of their old nicknames. Years, in fact. They had faded away with the carefree kids that they were back when James had died.

"Right, let's get this done so he might calm down." Sirius said, both of their good moods dampened a bit by the sudden reminder of what they were still missing.

It happened like that, they would be fine for weeks, months even, and something would pop up and for a few minutes all the old hurt rushed back in. It no longer took hours or days to be chased away but it still had a way of finding its way in, and it always came out of nowhere. Sirius listened to Harry's gleeful yelling as they flooed away one more time.

0o0o0oo0o

"Harry James, if you don't sit that bum down and eat this breakfast I'm letting you go to school hungry!" Sirius heard Mel call up the stairs.

Harry could be heard bouncing around in his room, Sirius sighed and grabbed the tie off of the bureau before walking into the room next door and scooping the squealing boy up around the waist and carrying him down the stairs sideways under his arm, Harry squirming and giggling the entire way.

"I believe you were looking for someone?" He said, pecking her on the lips and plopping the frumpled five year old on the chair. "You, EAT." He said sternly.

"But, I don't wanna go to ssscccchhhhhooooolllll, look it is so pretty, and warm. I wanna stay home and play with my broom." He huffed.

"And I want to go play in the woods, but you don't see me running off and doing it do you? Eat your breakfast."

Harry scowled and pushed the eggs around his plate sullenly.

"Harry you only have two weeks left of classes this year and then it is summer holiday and you will be off every day playing with Sammi and Aunt Jess." Mel said soothingly, trying to brush his hair out with her fingers.

"Are you gonna say home with us too?" he asked, turning to look up at her, batting his long, dark eyelashes.

"Sorry love, I have work, but I will be home by three every day to get you, and I am off on Fridays for the whole summer." She said, kissing his forehead.

"But I looked and my birthday is on a Tuesday."

"And I already told them I needed off for it, your daddy took off too, just like every year, do you think we would miss your birthday?"

Harry smiled and shook his head, his hair flew every which way. "Daddy, are you takin me to school today?"

Sirius smiled and took a drink of his orange juice, "Just like every other day little bit. You haven't eaten, you better get a move on it or we're going to be late."

Harry shrugged and pushed his plate away. " M' not hungry."

Sirius raised his eyebrows, lately, Harry was always hungry. He watched as Mel walked over and placed her hand on Harry's forehead, he hid his grin behind his cup. No matter how much she had protested that she wouldn't be a good mum she had sure wrapped herself up in the role well.

"Do you feel alright love?" she asked, concern on her face.

Harry shrugged. "M' just sleepy, an I don't wanna go to school." He mumbled.

"You sure you're just sleepy champ?" Sirius asked, set aside the lack of appetite, Harry rarely admitted to being tired.

"Yeah."

"Alright, well, let's get going so we don't get in trouble with your teacher, we can't skip school for being tired." Sirius kissed Mel and waited for her last attempt to flatten Harry's hair and kiss his head.

"If you start not feeling well, you ask to come home. They will call your dad and if he can't get out of work he can get ahold of me and I'll come get you, alright?"

"Kay." Harry nodded and grabbed his backpack from the floor before taking Sirius' hand.

They had walked to the end of the anti apparition fields and Sirius spun away, with Harry in hand.

0o0o0o0o

The familiar buzz pulled Sirius from his trance as he listened to the arguing that was going on between the dozen or so other accountants in the conference. He sighed and held his hand up, they all fell silent as he hit the talk button.

"Yes Amelia." He groaned.

"I'm sorry Mr. Evans, but it's your son's school. They say he's sick."

Sirius groaned and closed his eyes. Today wasn't a good day for this, he couldn't leave today. He looked towards the others apologetically. "I'm sorry, it's a side effect of being a single father, just a minute please?" They all nodded in understanding, it was well known that Sirius had a young son. "This is Sirius Evans, how can I help you?"

"Mr Evans? Hi, I am so sorry to call in the midst of the day like this." The school secretary said.

"Really, you know it isn't a problem. What is going on?"

"It's Harry, he is really sick. He seemed a bit quiet at first today but now he is a rather odd shade of green, and he is asleep in the chair here in the office. He isn't well at all."

"Green as in upset stomach?" he asked, eyebrows knitted together.

"No, green as in, green, all of him. I'll be buggered if I've ever seen anything like it."

"Damn." He muttered. There was no way he was going to be able to leave this meeting. "Let me call Jessalyn to come and get him. I really can't leave today." He apologized.

"I will have him ready for her. He seems to be running a bit of a fever, you may want to see if she can't get him into a doctor."

"I will, thank you so much Vivianne." He said fervently. "She will be there soon." He hung up the phone and glanced up at the others in the room. "I am so sorry. Would you all mind taking a fifteen minute break for me to call my sister in law to pick up my very sick little boy from school?"

Once everyone had filed out, he dialed up Jess's house, ever thankful that she was close by.


	19. Chapter 19: SICK

**_Ok I am going to go ahead and post since it is late but._**

**_This has not been edited at all._**

**_Sorry for any errors _**

Chapter Nineteen

**Sick**

As soon as his meetings had ended Sirius left the office and apparated to the edge of the apparition guard at Remus and Jessalyn's house. The breeze blew his hair back from his face as he made his way up the walk. He opened the door and called out into the hall.

"Jess!"

She appeared around the edge of the door wiping her hands on a towel.

"Hey Siri, what are you doing here?" she asked, obviously confused.

"You have my son…If he is so sick he is quiet enough for you to forget, then we have a problem."

She chuckled in reply. "I'm sorry Sirius. I assumed she would have contacted you after your meetings. I had to call Mel to come home, I am pretty sure he has dragon pox, Sammi hasn't had it, I didn't want to expose her. I knew you couldn't leave work so I called Mel, she was here within five minutes. She took him home."

"Shit. I didn't even think about Dragon pox. He hasn't been around wizards how in the hell would he have gotten that?"

"We don't know if he is around any wizards, I mean, muggleborns, half bloods, those kids all go to primary school and live in the muggle world. I am sure we have all come into contact without wizards without even knowing it, we don't exactly know the magical community here in France after all. We have done a lot to avoid detection Mr. Sirius Evans…"

Sirius nodded and wiped his hand down his face as he headed for the sitting room. "Thanks Jess, I'm going to head home to Harry. Anything I should know?"

She followed him to the door and watched as he threw floo powder into the fireplace. "He needs to go to the hospital if his fever goes over 40.5 c (105 )."

"Jess that is insanely high!"

"It is normal for his temperature to go that high with dragon pox. But any higher and it could put him into shock. He's going to be green for at least ten days, in about two he is going to break into boils, if they get close to his mouth you need to take him in. You will do fine Sirius, Mel has some experience with sick kids, you guys will be fine."

Sirius nodded his head before stepping into the fire and spinning away. He climbed into his own sitting room and spelled the soot off of himself.

"MEL!" he yelled, looking around the empty room and into the kitchen.

He heard movement from upstairs and followed it to Harry's room. The little boy was laying curled up under an avalanche of blankets and his hair was matted down to his head. The nurse had been right, he thought as he walked closer and saw the green color of Harry's face.

"Hey little bit, you don't look so great." He said softly as he sat down on the edge of the single bed.

Harry opened his eyes and looked up at his godfather.

"I feel weally icky." He mumbled.

Sirius winced at the weak sound of his voice, he glanced back towards the door when he heard Mel step into the room. She was holding a wet towel in her hands and she said nothing as she passed Sirius and knelt next to Harry's head. He watched as she pushed his fringe up and placed the cool cloth on his head.

"How is he?" he asked quietly as she rubbed Harry's cheek.

"He's pretty sick." She said shortly.

Sirius glanced at her face briefly, it was rare that Melanie was snappy with anyone, let alone with him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get out of meetings, honestly had I known it was this bad I would have left anyways."

"Then I guess it is a good thing Jess was there for you to call." She replied simply as she stood and headed for the door.

Sirius raised his eyebrows at her briefly. He did not have the patience for an irritated girlfriend with Harry laying here sick.

"Why don't you get some sleep baby, if you need anything just yell for me alright."

"No, I don' wan you to leave." He whined.

"Alright, alright. I'll stay here and read you a story."

"You won' leave?"

He glanced back at Mel before turning back to his extremely sick little boy. "I won't leave."

0o0o0o0o

Night had fully fallen hours ago. Harry's room had fallen into shadows, Sirius had a terrible pain in his neck from leaning against the wall all evening. The door opened, casting a sliver of light onto the floor. He looked up as Mel came in to check on Harry, she hadn't said much to Sirius all day. As of right now Harry was curled with his head on Sirius' lap, covered with a heavy blanket and he was sound asleep after finally being coaxed into taking a fever potion that had made him sleepy.

"You need to eat." She whispered as she felt Harry's head.

"I told him I wouldn't leave."

"That was five hours ago, you have been puked on and sweated on and if you don't eat and get a shower you are going to end up sick yourself."

"What if he wakes up?" he asked tentatively, moving Harry gently to lay on the bed before he stood and stretched.

"I am pretty sure I am capable of checking on him, contrary to popular belief." She snapped.

He sighed and tucked the blankets around his five year old before walking past her out the door. He pulled his shirt off and threw it into the bathroom floor while he waited for her to exit the bedroom. When she closed the door he was standing against the bathroom door frame, his pants undone with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Are you planning on telling me what is your problem today? Because with Harry sick I don't have the time or the tolerance to deal with this right now." He said bluntly.

He was pretty sure that if looks could kill he would have fallen over right there. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, actually I am, both in name and in mood."

She rolled her eyes at his joke. "We don't need to do this right now. There is a very sick little boy in that room, we don't need to focus on this."

"Look, it's hard enough to worry about him, I can't deal with you being pissy too. So how about you just tell me what is going on?"

She walked away from Harry's door and into her and Sirius' shared bedroom before sitting on the bed, he followed her and closed the door behind him.

"Why would you call Jessalyn?" she asked, her eyes teary.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Why did you call her to pick him up? You want me to act like a mum and yet you don't treat me like one. You give Jess more responsibility over him than you do me."

Sirius was stunned, he really wasn't sure what to say. "I never asked you to be his mum, he has a mum, I asked you to be my girlfriend, and to be yourself."

She looked at him, exasperated. "Sirius, be real. You want me to live here, you want me to be a family with the two of you, then you have to treat me like a part of the family."

"I do." He protested.

"You don't" she argued. "I told him this morning that if he got sick to call you and you would get ahold of me and I would come and get him. I, not Jessalyn, not Remus, I. I knew you couldn't leave today. I had no issue leaving work for him. None. I would have stayed home with him had we realized he was this sick and not just sleepy. You should have called me. Not Jess."

He ran his hands over his face and sat quietly for a minute, listening to be sure Harry was still sleeping. "I did what I have done for the last three years Mel. I don't know how to not be a single parent. I didn't start out with a partner, it was just me. And Remmy helped and then Jess was there. I don't know how to rely on you like a parent because once James and Lily died he only had one parent, me. I am not used to having someone else be there for him like I am. I forgot, completely, that you said to call you."

"Well you forgetting made me feel about two inches tall when that little boy asked me why I changed my mind and didn't pick him up when he didn't feel good."

Sirius' face fell, he knew the expression Harry would have worn. He was good at making one feel guilty. "I'm sorry. I am. I didn't even think. This is the first time he has been sent home sick. Usually it is because of accidental magic. I was in the meetings and frantic and I just did what I always do. When he goes back I will put you on the list for calls, I will change it so you are the second person notified, not Jess or Remus. Please don't be mad about this Mel, I can't handle it with him being sick too. I don't do relationship fights well. I have never had to deal with them, please."

"That's because you always broke up with the girl before you ever had a chance to argue." She said snippily.

"Precisely my point. I can't learn a new aspect to a relationship when I am worried about Harry. Please."

She sighed and stood, heading for the door, he knew she was going to check in on Harry. "Dinner is downstairs, I put a charm on it to keep it fresh."

0o0o0o

It was bad, really, really bad. Sirius wasn't sure what to do with himself. Apparently Mel had been wrong about her own medical history and she did not have dragon pox as a child. She did now. While dragon pox was scary and dangerous for a child to have, it was deadly at worst and dangerous at best for an adult. It was made worse by the fact that Harry was reacting very poorly to it. His boils covered every part of his body and when he just checked on him he was burning up.

"Hey baby boy, I need you to wake up."

Harry's eyes fluttered slightly but stayed closed.

"Mummy….Mummy…" he cried. Sirius was beside himself, he didn't know if he was asking for Mel or Lily.

"Harry, little bit it's me. It's daddy, Uncle Siri." He tried, wiping his head with a cold compress.

"Nooooo…Noooooo!" he screamed out.

Sirius was reminded of the night terrors that Harry hadn't had in a long time.

"Baby please wake up for me." he shook him slightly, his hands feeling the heat that was rolling off of the small child.

"Sirius, I think he needs to go to the hospital." Remus' calm voice said from the hall.

"No, he's fine. He's fine, he's just having a nightmare." He said, jostling him again, trying to get him to wake.

Walking closer, Remus pursed his lips as he took in the sight of his nephew. His skin had darkened and was the color of an old evergreen tree, the boils were large and innumerable, the were so dark that they were nearly blue. Harry's hair was slicked flat to his head with sweat, he looked like he had been dipped into water and lifted back out he was so wet. Over the last hour his breaths had become short and harsh.

"Sirius, he is not having a nightmare, he is hallucinating, he is going to go into shock if you don't take him in. I just checked on Mel, her temperature has spiked, I think we need to take them both to the hospital.

Sirius was so on edge that his temper flaired, "Where do you want me to take him? I can't take him to London, everyone will know who he is, it will be all over the papers. For Merlin's sake Lily worked at St. Mungo's that's where he was born, there will be no secrecy at all."

Remus placed his hand on his friend's back, trying to exude some type of calm into the panicked man. "Then we take him to Merlin's Magical Maladies in Paris. We sign him in with your muggle names. We will even call Mel, Melanie Evans. But we can't leave them here Sirius. We have to take them or they are going to."

"Don't say it, don't say that." Sirius cut him off, pulling the blankets off of Harry. "Do I change his clothes first?"

Remus looked at the drenched red and gold pajamas that Harry wore and waived his wand effectively drying the fabric. "I don't think we need to waste time. We are going to have to apparate and that means walking them the half mile to the apparition point. You carry Harry and I will carry Mel."

"You can't carry her a half mile." Sirius argued, lifting Harry into his arms.

Remus looked at him blankly. "Mate, I'm a werewolf or have you forgotten? I could carry you if I needed to. I will get Mel, go ahead and get moving."

"Oh, right, right, I forgot." He mumbled as he bent to pick up Godric before he made his way from the room and to the stairs.

0o0o0o0

"My name is Sirius Evans, this is my son, and my erm…wife, they both have dragon pox and it has gotten really bad." He said to the young witch behind the counter.

"Oh dear. How old is the boy?" she asked flipping through a notebook.

"He's five, he'll be six in about two months."

She nodded in reply, jotting notes down. "Unfortunately we are going to have to separate them, the boy will need to go to our children's ward and your wife to our magical ailments ward."

He glanced back at Remus, who still held Mel in his arms. "I don't know what to do." He said helplessly looking between her and Harry.

Within seconds there were several mediwizards and witches around they had conjured two stretchers, Remus laid Mel onto it, the movement woke her.

"Sirius." She croaked.

He rushed to her side, Harry still in his arms.

"Sir, Sir we need you to place him here." One of the healers said.

"Mel, you're in the hospital, Harry too."

"Harry. Harry. Where's Harry?" she asked frantically, trying to sit up inspite of the charms holding her to the transportable bed.

He positioned himself so she could see him. "He's really sick Mel. They have to take you to different rooms. I don't know what to do."

He watched as tears filled her eyes. "Harry. Harry needs his daddy." She said softly, before closing her eyes again.

"Mel! MEL!" he screamed. Remus pulled him back, steading Harry in his arms as he did so.

"Dadddy! Daddy!" Harry began to wail, his eyes still closed as he thrashed back and forth.

Before Sirius could do anything at all, Harry was pulled from his arms and rushed through the doors away from him, they completely ignored the stretcher that sat there, instead, opting to run him to the ward. Sirius, shaking and trying not to lose control pulled himself from Remus' grasp and gripped the ledge.

"I need you to fill out forms for both of them sir." The woman said politely, looking sadly at his face.

"I need to go with my son." He said, his voice cracking.

"I understand. I do, they won't let you in until they get him settled though. For now I need you to give me all of their information so I can sign them in, then if there is any family you need to notify so you aren't here alone."

Remus nodded and reached over Sirius' shoulder, pulling the clipboard from her. "I will help him. Thank you so much." He grabbed Sirius' faded, exceedingly old Gryffindor tshirt and pulled him to the hard plastic chairs to sit as he began to fill out the forms. "Mel's parents, you need to get in contact with them. They can sit with her while you sit with Harry. Besides, unless she has listed you as her next of kin, you can't feel these out, you aren't actually married. And you are going to have to tell them about Harry, it is here on the forms.

Sirius swore under his breath and stood, Remus followed as the found their way to the visitors floo room and Sirius made a firecall to Mel's father.

0o0o

An hour later Sirius, Remus and Grant were in a small office, waiting on the head of the hospital to explain their situation. A summons from the British in his hand, had made his request to be seen be taken seriously. They all turned to the door as it opened.

"I am Healer Franquias. I understand that we have two patients that require the utmost security?" the gray headed man said as he held out his hand to Sirius.

"This is really sensitive, it is going to mean that the true identity of both patients, but specifically my son are not released, to anyone, not even the healers in his ward."

"I was sent a silencing order from the Minister of Magic in London. Nothing leaves this room."

Sirius glanced at Remus and nodded. "My son, is actually my Godson. I am Sirius Black, he is Harry Potter."

"The Harry Potter? As in the boy who lived?" the older man said, stunned.

"Yes, we couldn't take him to St. Mungo's we need to keep him from being recognized. The woman, is actually my girlfriend, but for discretion we are saying she is my wife. We all need to go by the surname Evans. Sirius, Harry and Melanie Evans. This is her father, he will sign all papers for treatment as he is next of kin."

0o0o0o

Sirius pushed the door open to the room. It was brightly painted with murals of animals walking across the walls. Harry looked so small in the hospital bed. He had been changed, and was wearing a pair of yellow hospital pajamas. Sirius looked to the wall where various vitals and numbers were suspended in the air. His oxygen levels were low the healers had said, they had stabilized his breathing, and after several potions and cooling charms they had regulated his temperature but his throat had swollen with the blisters and he wasn't getting the normal amount of oxygen.

He had actually been allowed in to see Mel before the opened Harry's room for him. It hadn't taken them long to get her stable. She wasn't a progressed as Harry. She was asleep now, her father was sitting with her. They had sedated Harry to keep him from thrashing in his sleep, the fever was causing hallucinations and night terrors.

He sat in the chair at the side of the bed, and ran his fingers through the thick hair.

"Hey little boy. You look a little bit better than the last time I saw you." He said softly. The healers had told him that in the sedated sleep, Harry could likely hear him and it would help him stay calm if he knew Sirius was there. "I'm sorry I had to bring you here. I wish I could just take you home with me. Your Uncle Remus is really worried about you. Mel is really worried, before she fell asleep she asked for you over and over again. She begged to come see you, but she is really sick too. I am really worried about you. You have to get better Harry. You have to. I can't do this without you. You are my everything baby boy."

He turned at the sound of a throat clearing. "Mr. Evans?" the blonde headed man said, holding out his hand.

"Yes, I'm Sirius Evans." He said, standing and shaking the man's hand.

He was so preoccupied he didn't notice the searching gaze on the face. "You are the boy's father?" he asked, looking down at the extremely ill child.

"Yes, yes I am. This is Harry Evans, I'm his father. You, You're English?" Sirius said, noticing the lack of French accent.

The man nodded and smiled slightly. "I am, I defected here during the war, I moved my family away from it. It seems that you are English as well."

Sirius nodded. "Yes, when my wife, she is up on the magical ailments ward, found out she was pregnant we moved out of the country to keep them safe. The farther away the better." He said, trying to steer the conversation out of these waters. He looked over to the window at the light rain that was falling, dusk was quickly approaching.

"A wise choice. I am Healer Avery, I am one of the lead pediatric healers in the hospital and I will be taking care of little Harry here personally." He walked closer to the bed and waived his wand, more stats appeared with others and he began to jot them down on his clipboard. "He seems to be in a state of limbo right now, he isn't really getting better, but he isn't getting worse. The blisters got into his lung tissue, and his fever got wildly out of control. I am afraid you will be here for a week or so."

"When he gets out, will he be well enough for school? There are only two weeks left, should I just notify them that he won't be back?"

The healer's brows raised in question. "He goes to a muggle school?"

"He does, his mum is muggleborn and we live in a muggle community. It seemed the best choice for him."

He nodded in reply as he began to uncork potions to give to Harry. "I think it would be unlikely and unwise to send him back this year. Consider this the beginning of his summer holidays."

He waived his wand over the sleeping form and woke him from the sleep potions. Harry's eyes popped open and he instantly began to cry frantically. Sirius made his way to the bedside where Harry launched himself into his arms. He sat with Harry in his lap.

"Dadddyyy Daddddyyyy don't leave please daddy don't leave."

"Shhhhhh. Sssshhhhhh. I'm not going anywhere, I am staying right here with you. But right now I think healer Avery needs for you to take some potions to make you feel better."

"Nooooo. Nooooo potions." He sobbed.

Sirius rubbed small circles on Harry's back to soothe him. "If you take them you will get to come home sooner. You have to get better little bit, you have to take the medicine to get better."

Harry shook his head and cried pitifully before they managed to coerce him into drinking the potions, on the agreement that Sirius would carry him to see Mel. He kept his word and once Harry's vitals proved stable Sirius picked him up and headed towards Mel's bed.

"You need to call her mummy, we told a little lie so you need to call her mummy" Sirius whispered as he opened the door to the incredibly white room. There in the corner sitting in a relaxer style of chair was Melanie. She was awake and talking with her father. The conversation stopped when Sirius came in, carrying Harry.

"Mel, you have a visitor to see you." Sirius said with a smile. "Mummy! Mummy! I misted you so much. You weren't in there with me when they did all the pokes and took my blood and they made me take nasty medicine. I need you to stay wif me mummy. He cried as Sirius sat him down on Mel's bed. Harry scurried up to her shoulder and lay there comfortable in Melanie's embrace.

"Mrs. Evans, It would seem we need to run some tests, however young Harry can't go with you." A healer said simply.

"Then I will run the tests later, they are not as important as my son. He asked for me and he has me, no one is taking him away, he will go over my dead body. The healers stepped away giving room for Sirius to sit on the edge of the bed. He bent and kissed Mel's hair and then he kissed Harry's cheek. The majority of the healers had cleared out, only the top rankings healers were still in the ward at all. Healer Avery was constantly adding notes to his tabled and altering Harry's stats. Healer Franquias was doing the same with Mel's results. It was however quiet enough for him to talk to the two most important people in his world while they slept.

"You both have to heal, and quickly. I am no one without the two of you. You make me who I am. You have to get better and wake up because I don't know how to live without you. Harry I thought I was going to live without you once and it nearly killed me, if you don't pull out of this I will have nothing. I need you baby boy. I need you."


	20. Chapter 20: Secrets Not So Well Kept

**_This is short but I needed it to be its own chapter for a reason._**

**_I am not JKR_**

Chapter Twenty

**Secrets Not So Well Kept**

Sitting vigil by a bedside for days on end was exhausting, especially when you were bouncing between two. Thankfully Remus had spent a lot of his own time here with Sirius. Harry had been put into a sedated sleep after their visit to Mel. He wasn't tolerating the pain of the boils and his hysterics were making his blood pressure soar and his heart falter in its week state. To keep him calm the sedation potions were utilized. Since Harry was asleep for much of the time whenever Mel was awake Sirius would sit with her while Remus sat with Harry.

Right now Mel was awake and Sirius looked as if he was going to pass out where he sat.

"You need to go home and get some sleep." She said, looking at the dark rings under his eyes. "You are going to make yourself sick."

He shook his head, "I can't leave. I have to be here. Harry wakes up at random times and only for a few minutes at a time. I have to be here when he is awake, he is scared enough as it is. Daddy's are supposed to be there. I can't leave you in here alone either Mel. It's my job to protect you, both of you."

She smiled her weak smile. "While that is incredibly sweet. You can't protect us from illness Sirius. We am going to get sick."

"And I am going to make sure you get better. Now stop arguing and get some sleep."

He stared at the fading green of her skin. Her reaction had been much less than they had expected it to be, it came on quicker than Harry's had but it was burning itself out faster than his, something that was rare in dragon pox for adults. As he watched her slowly fall back to sleep his mind wandered to Harry, he knew that had he woke, Remus would have come gotten him. And had it been time for Remus to take Sammi home he would have come as well. He must still be in there with him.

Since this strain of dragon pox had been so aggressive, and Harry had been in Remus and Jessalyn's house, and the two kids had been exposed to pretty much all of the same places and people, Sammi was being brought in everyday to take a preventative potion. The potion would either prevent her from getting it after exposure or make it a mild case. Today she was sitting in a private room coloring after taking the potions, she had to stay for two hours after each dose to check for reactions.

"Bonjour Sammi."

She turned and looked up at the man she had seen going into Harry's room for the last several days. She was supposed to stay in this room when she was here but she had snuck a few peeks into the hall trying to see her friend. She hadn't met this man, so far she had only talked to the nurse maids on the floor.

"Are you Harry's healer?" She asked softly.

"I should have known you would be English as well." He said, dropping the French. "I am Harry's healer. Are you his friend? I know he came to your house after school the day he got so sick."

She nodded and smiled happily, picking up a new crayon. "Yup, he is my best friend. I love him."

"He is lucky to have a friend like you." He said, picking up his own crayon and making marks on papers.

"How long have you two been friends?"

"Forever. Harry has been my friend forever. And when we are big, like thirteen or fourteen we are going to get married and be a mummy and a daddy. And then I will be Sammi Potter."

She was too engulfed in drawing her picture of a dragon for Harry to notice the old man's hesitation at her words.

"You mean Sammi Evans?"

She giggled. "No silly. When you are married you get to have the daddy's last name. You are a grown up, you should know that, aren't you a daddy?"

He smiled at the precocious little girl. "I am a daddy, I have a son, he is roughly your daddy's age. He isn't little like you anymore. His mummy has my last name. But if you grow up and marry Harry then you are right, you will have his last name. That is Evans right?"

"No, that is his school name. Just like my school name."

"Your school name?" he questioned, "That is really good fire." He said, pointing to the red and yellow flames on her page.

"Thanks. Yup at school he is Harry Evans, but at home he is Harry Potter. Just like I am Sammi Winchester at school but at home I am Sammi McKinnon. But no one is allowed to know, it is a secret so no one knows that we can do magic."

"But I met your daddy, his last name isn't McKinnon." The man said.

She laughed again. "He's not my daddy. Not yet, but him and mum are gonna get married soon and then he will be my step daddy. I never met my daddy. Mum says he went past the veil a long time ago because of bad people. He was Michael."

"Michael McKinnon?" the man breathed.

She nodded. "Yup, that's why I'm Sammi McKinnon. Well Samantha but I hate that name. But when I am big I will marry Harry I will be Samantha Potter and if he ever calls me Samantha I will feed him to our pet dragon."

"I understand, I have known people who didn't like their name either." The healer told her honestly. "You know, Harry is very lucky that you are his friend. And I am happy to have met you as well, but now to business, I need to check you for any signs of dragon pox, do you think you can let me do that so you can get home?"

She shrugged and sat her crayon down before walking over to the elevated exam table and hoisting herself up.

"So tell me, miss future Potter. Do you go to muggle school with Harry then?" Nodding her head she watched while he waved his wand over her several times. "Where do you go to school?"

"We go to primary school. Harry is only in first year but I am in third year. But we are about to advance up. We go to Commune de Saint Maur."

"I see, that is a lovely place to live. I need you to tilt your head back."

"Oh no, mummy or Uncle Sirius or Remus apparate us there, we live in Châteauroux. I love it there. It is my favorite place in the whole world."

"I am sure it is." He said, helping her to jump down. "You look great Miss Winchester, or should I say McKinnon. No dragon pox for you."

"Shhhhh you can't tell bout my name. I promised mummy I would keep it a secret so no one knew I could make magic. Harry's either, I would get in big trouble if she found out."

He nodded his head before taking her hand. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Harry's too?" she asked cautiously as he handed her an everlasting flavor pop.

"Harry's too."


	21. Chapter 21: From Bad To Worse

**_Sorry, _**

**_I am came up with a new Lily/James fic and I got wrapped up_**

**_The good news is that I am not posting it till this one is finished_**

**_So by the time I post it, it will be complete :)_**

**_I did post a one shot on Mother's Day for Molly if anyone wants to read it._**

**_Ok, here we go._**

Chapter Twenty-One

**From Bad to Worse**

As the mid July heat washed over the houses in the little town in the shadows of the old French castle, Harry and Sammi sat out on the grass in the side garden of Jessalyn and Remus' cottage. They were laughing and playing with exploding snap cards, oblivious to the heat that had chased Jessalyn and Remus back into the house to retrieve popsicles and lemonade.

When the front gate banged open and shut with a crack both kids looked up curiously, their faces breaking into huge smiles when they saw Mel jogging towards them, her hair bouncing behind her. Before either child could yell out a greeting she had scooped Harry into her arms and grabbed Sammi's hand and began to rush them into the house.

"Aunt Mel what are you doin? We were playin." Sammi protested.

Harry, who was always happy to be held just laid his head on her shoulder and watched as she threw the double glass doors open and then closed them tightly behind her.

"Mel, what are you doing here?" Remus asked, bewildered.

"I need you to go get Sirius, I don't care what he is doing at work, he needs to get here. Now." He didn't take the time to ask any questions, seeing the panic on her face was enough. "Jess, come in here and help Mel with the kids, I'll be right back with Siri." He called urgently into the kitchen before rushing out the door and to the apparition point.

"Mel, what is going on?" Jessalyn asked nervously.

"Just, we need to get the kids busy, but they have to be inside. With us, they don't need to be outside right now." She said, glancing over at the little boy she held in her arms, the same little boy that she had watched shake in fear in a play pen in a cupboard under the stairs all those years ago.

Jessalyn nodded and over the next few minutes they settled Harry and Sammi at the coffee table in the sitting room, prepared with glasses of lemonade, parchment, fingerpaints and glitter. They had just placed impervious charms on the floor and furniture when a confused looking Sirius and Remus came through the door. Remus glanced at the kids and gestured towards the office where they wouldn't be overheard but could still keep them in their sight. Mel started to follow but was first pulled into Sirius' arms, he kissed her temple.

"You are trembling." He said nervously.

She nodded as he walked them into the office room. Once inside she stood and looked directly at Sirius.

"There's been a breakout. A big one."

His face looked like stone for a second, it was Remus who spoke. "What do you mean?"

"At Azkaban. They haven't released it to the public yet, I only heard about it because Dumbledore came into our offices in a panic, which is saying something for him."

"Who?" Sirius managed to say in a hitched voice.

She hated telling them this. She hated saying it at all. She was terrified for the children in the other room. "The Lestranges."

"My cousin?" he questioned.

"Yes, her and her husband, and brother in law." She confirmed.

"They were responsible for Frank and Alice." Remus stated, she nodded, and heard a sob from Jessalyn. "Who else?"

"Dolohov, Mulciber, Scabior." She looked at Jessalyn and could barely contain the tremor in her voice "Travers."

"He-he-he's the one. He…Michael…He-" Jessalyn muttered, feeling weak in the knees.

"He killed the McKinnons." Sirius finished for her.

Remus folded her safely into his arms. "He won't get to her, he doesn't even know about her, she is safe, I will die before I let something happen to that little girl." He whispered.

"He is out too. Isn't he?" Came Sirius' voice, it sounded hollow. She just stared at him, tears welling in her eyes. "Melanie, Pettigrew got out, didn't he? He is out."

She nodded and couldn't stop the flow of tears. "They don't know how it happened, today when the aurors for shift change showed up all of the aurors that were there from the night shift were dead and shoved into a maximum security cell, some of them had been kissed. Dumbledore says we need to return Harry to the Dursley's that it is the only way he will be safe." She said, her voice shaking.

"Like hell I will. He will go no where near them."

"Sirius, calm down, we know he isn't going back there." Remus said firmly.

"Calm down? Calm down? That bloody traitor, that rat, he- he- he killed them, it is his fault, he will come after Harry." He shouted, his hair falling into his face.

"Harry can hear you! You are going to scare him, now calm down." Remus demanded, releasing Jessalyn and gripping his friend's shoulders firmly. "They will not touch either of those kids. They are more well protected than the sodding minister of magic."

"What are we going to do?" Jessalyn cried.

She and Sirius looked to be at the same level of hysteria, Remus seemed to be the only calm one. "We use magic to modify Sirius' house and put another bedroom downstairs. We move us and Sammi in there. We close off the floo completely, no access at all. Mel, you are going to have to apparate to work, if you continue to go. Sirius quits the firm and when school comes back in we don't send the kids, we homeschool them. Unless we want to move completely we are going to have to bunker down and stay even more invisible than we have been." He said.

"I can't quit, it would be too noticeable. At least if I am at the ministry I can get information." Mel said, trying to find her calm.

Remus nodded, "I was actually going to suggest that you keep working. Just be very careful when you talk about home. It isn't much of a secret anymore that you and Sirius are together. And everyone knows that Sirius has Harry. It's a matter of public record. Not to mention that we did take them into London a few months ago. We were seen with him."

"People recognized me." Jessalyn said quietly.

"But they don't know who Sammi's father is." Mel soothed.

"But some people DO know that I was dating Michael, it really wouldn't be hard to put two and two together after they saw her with me, the ages and everything." She was working herself into a panic.

To all of their surprise it was Sirius who spoke up. "Jess, I wouldn't let death eaters any closer to her than I would do Harry. She will never, never, be in danger, of that I can promise. She will be fine."

"If something were to happen, and I was gone." She stammered.

"We aren't talking like this, that isn't going to happen." Mel said, burying her face in her hands.

"We kept her hidden because of my condition, we were afraid how she would be accepted. She's mine, I will swear it until I die." Remus said firmly.

"And if something were to happen to you both I'll take her with me and Harry. Remmy is right, I knew about her all along. She's his." Sirius added. He turned to Mel and put his hands on her arms. "You have to understand, I know you haven't lived it like this, but it has always been this way, with this threat. You were angry, when he was sick, remember? You said I don't treat you like his mum. This is that moment Mel. I won't force you into this, it isn't safe so if you don't want to be a part of it I won't expect you to be."

She looked at him unfathomably. "Sirius, I am already a part of it. I already love you and him. Do you think that I could walk away from that?"

He pulled her back into an embrace and sighed, "No, I don't. But I had to give you the chance to get away from this if you wanted to. If something happens to me, you are going to be a single mum. You have to raise him like he's yours, like Lily would have without James. He is the one that matters, not me, you are to always fight for him. We have to fill out papers so they don't give him back to the Dursley's."

"Sirius, it won't come down to that." She argued.

"It could, and we have to know what to do if it happens." Remus said calmly. "They will put up a fight to place him with Lily's family, you are going to need air tight papers."

"If something were to happen to both of us, you will take him right." He asked Remus.

"They won't give him to me." He protested, "But I will fight for him."

"They will give him to Jess."

"I wouldn't let him go anywhere else." Jessalyn said honestly.

"We will get you moved in starting tomorrow, I will do the modifications tonight, you could stay tonight and the kids would just think they are having a sleepover." Sirius suggested.

"I would really like to stay one last night here, I mean, it is just one night and I have lived here since Sammi was born. I will miss it."

Sirius and Remus both nodded. "I will go into the office tomorrow and give my resignation, I will tell them that I have a family emergency and can no longer be away from the house."

"Mummy, can we have are popsicles yet?" came Sammi's voice, they all turned to see the two children standing hand in paint covered hand in the doorway.

"I weally wanna posicle." Harry confirmed nodding his purple and green face. Even his hair was standing up, though it usually was, with green paint.

"What are you doing covered in green? You know that is the forbidden color!" Sirius exclaimed, lifting him into his arms.

"The grass is green Dad, and trees and parts of the flowers. I have to use it." He replied with all the air of impatience.

Sirius sighed dramatically as everyone else laughed. "So is the injustice of the world."


	22. Chapter 22: Gone

**_This took a while, because I had a hard time writing it…._**

**_This is a rough chapter, just a warning._**

**_There is nothing that I can say about this._**

**_Thank you for reading and reviewing_**

**_I am not JKR _**

Chapter Twenty-Two

**Gone**

Harry's birthday came and went that year in a very nervous and unusual fashion, there was no party in the play park, no friends over at the house, it was all family, just the six of them. Mid August was approaching and all four adults were dreading telling the two kids that they wouldn't be returning to school. To lighten the blow Sirius and Remus had gone out to pick up special food for dinner before Mel got home from the ministry. Jessalyn was messing about her and Remus' room, trying to make it not look as cluttered when there was a knock at the door. Before she could get there she heard Sammi yell back to her.

"Mummy, Harry's healer is here to see him!"

She narrowed her eyes and walked into the sitting room, surely she couldn't have heard that right. When she came around the corner everybit of blood in her body ran cold standing outside the doorway, as no one could walk in without direct invitation from an of age resident of the house, was Healer Avery. Behind him stood a man that she would know anywhere, whether it be from a picture or in person. She had stared at his face and dreamed of his face for far too many years to ever forget it. Travers, the man that killed her Michael. If the men being here was not enough, the kids were overly welcoming even at the best of times and recognizing his trusted healer, Harry was outside holding his hand, and Sammi the other. Jessalyn couldn't speak, she stared in horror at the sight in front of her.

"I think letting us in would be the best option here." Avery said softly.

"It would be polite. I always wondered what Michael was blocking in his mind that night. It would be a pleasure to meet the youngest McKinnon." Travers added, his voice silky, deadly.

Her eyes darted between the two unaware, smiling kids. She sucked in a raking breath and felt sick at she heard the words come from her mouth.

"Come in."

She watched in terror as first Avery, gripping the hands of both children and then Travers walked safely over the threshold of the house and then Travers walked in smiling evilly. She looked around herself. There was no way she was going to be able to protect both kids and herself. She knew that much already. There was no way she stood a chance against two death eaters by herself, not while protecting two kids. In that second she knew exactly her fate. She held her arms out and smiled a happy smile. To her surprise Avery released the kids and they both skipped to her happily.

She knelt in front of them and pulled them into her arms, she watched the men over her shoulders warily. Avery put his hand in front of Travers' chest, holding him in place.

"You have two minutes." He sneered.

His words felt like a steel hard blow to her ribs. He knew her fate as well as she did. He was giving her time to tell them by, the problem was how to protect them, how to keep them from following her beyond the veil? She looked at Harry and then to Sammi.

"You two are two of the most amazing gifts I have ever been given that I never even knew to ask for." She said tears spilling from her eyes. She saw the alarm in the kids' eyes.

"These men are bad men, and you are to stay where I put you. I will keep us safe." She felt guilty that one of the last things she said to them was a lie. "I love you both, so very much. Harry, I never expected to find a little boy that would steal my heart like you. I love you like you are my own, and I would give up everything for you my sweet. You are perfect and special and worth everything your daddy James and mummy Lily gave for you. Your daddy Sirius and Uncle Remus love you so much. "

She turned her face to her daughter.

"You are so amazing Samantha, my little Sammi girl. You are the greatest miracle my life has given me and I would be incomplete without you. If I could live life all over again just to see you smile every time that you have, I would. No one has ever, or will ever love you the way I do. You are everything that is perfect in my life. And your mummy loves you, with everything that I am."

She stood and pushed them behind her, casting an impenetrable protection charm over the two scared children.

"You can't protect them forever. Once you are gone, they will be easy to take. " Travers said, his voice low.

"How did you get past our wards?" she snapped.

Avery laughed.

"I was in school with the Dark Lord, I learned all of my tricks, right beside him. If you break wards slowly, over many days and weeks, no one feels them fall. But does the how matter? Surely all that matters is that we are here."

Jessalyn pursed her lips together and raised her wand.

The fight didn't take but a few moments before she lay on the floor, alone and lifeless, when her life fell, so did her protective barrier, releasing the children to the demons that stood in their midst. When Harry watched in horror as Sammi joined her mother and father on the other side of the veil his fear overtook him and a magical blast burst from him. Shaking the house at its core. Rubble and debris began to fall, knocking him facefirst onto the concrete. He could hear the house falling in but could hear nothing of the men who had changed his world. He felt a wet sticky substance under his face and a shart pain in his chest before he passed out.

0o0o0o0o0o

Sirius and Remus were almost home when a blast rent the air and made the ground shake under their feet. They both looked at each other in trepidation, the sound had come from infront of them, the only thing down this street was Sirius' cottage. They both began to run full out. When they arrived on the property both of their hearts fell into their stomachs. They were there just in time to see a black robed man shoot a green symbol into the sky and disappeared, that's when Sirius realized the wards had fallen. His world had fallen, for several shell shocked seconds he was back in the middle of Godric's Hollow staring at James and Lily's bodies. He felt a dry sob wrack his body.

The two men looked in terror at the sight before them, their home broken and smoldering on the ground. It took only seconds to find them in the midst of the rubble. Closest to where the door should have been they found Healer Avery and Sirius let out a string of expletives when he found the darkmark on his arm while checking for a pulse. When they didn't find one Sirius kicked at the man's lifeless body, screaming obscenities at him before turning back to find his family.

Remus was first, he found Jessalyn's body and he broke. It reminded Sirius of himself when he found James. Unfortunately he couldn't stop to comfort his friend, there were two children to find and he was praying that they hadn't been taken by the unknown deatheater. He was spelling debris out of the way when he found Sammi and Harry, wrapped together in a hug. Both of their bodies lifeless. Sirius' heart ceased to exist, Harry hadn't looked like this when Voldemort attacked. He rushed forward for the children.

"Remus! Remus! It's Harry and Sammi! Remus!" Sirius screamed.

Snapping out of it Remus came to Sirius' aide. Remus was closest to Harry and he lifted him from Sammi's arms, he held him close, yelling his name.

"Siri, Siri he's unconscious. He's alive, but he's bad off, he's." Remus looked up into Sirius' face to see a look that changed his world forever.

Sirius' face was lost in tears and he shook his head softly at Remus.

"Harry, take Harry to St Mungos, get Dumbledore. Give her, give her to me."

Obeying his friend's request Sirius lay the little girl in Remus' lap and he pulled Harry into his arms. He took a moment to examine his godson, his son. He seemed so much littler in his arms right now. He looked back down to his broken hearted friend.

"I'm taking him." He choked, his own tears filling his throat. "You'll follow?" he asked, knowing just where Remus' head was at, he had once been there.

Remus nodded but said nothing. Sirius turned and dissaparated from the spot with Harry in his arms, it would be the last he saw his friend for a very long time.


	23. Chapter 23: Picking Up The Pieces

**_Ok, bear with me, this is going to be a LONG author's note._**

**_I never do these this long, but this needed done._**

**_PLEASE READ IT_**

**_Firstly and foremost. If you are going to pretty much leave a death threat on a review can you not do it as a guest because I would really like to be able to respond to that. As it is, since it was a guest, if you find it missing, I removed it because that was a little much. That's all I'm gonna say about that one._**

**_Now… I know that was a tough chapter, believe me, I sobbed when I wrote it, I know. But this is not the first death of a child in Harry Potter. In book six a five year old sibling of a student is mauled to death by Greyback….children died in both halves of the war. Voldemort took a crap shoot at one of two, one year old babies. _**

**_Death Eaters do not care if it is a child. They just don't. And Travers murdering all the McKinnons is actually cannon. It is part of the original story, I did not make that up, blame JKR for that. It was a mission Voldemort put him on and he got captured. When he escaped in my story, he completed his mission. _**

**_Healer Avery is the Avery from Slughorn's memory in book six, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. He was Voldemort's friend. His SON is the Avery in the department of Mysteries, he would have been highly anxious for his revenge on Harry and Sirius after his father died trying to kill the boy. That is who Healer Avery is, the original Avery, friend to Voldemort. And you will see his son in year five, just like in the real books._**

**_Yes, they had to die. I am sorry, they just did, it is part of Harry and Remus' character development. _**

**_The thing to remember is that this story is AU which means that because Harry is not completely under cover at the Dursley's and safe by the blood ties that Death Eaters WILL find them, and in order for Scabbers to go to Hogwarts, he had to be out of prison. _**

**_Last point- Anything that happens in these two chapters is NECESSARY for my character's development, it is critical that Harry still experience sadness and loss and loneliness even while he gets to grow and thrive under the care of an awesome Godfather. Everything is here for a reason, I don't kill characters lightly, everything has a purpose._**

**_I am sorry if you don't like it, I am sorry if you don't agree, but, that is how the story goes. People died in the real Harry Potter, good people, innocent people, young people, yes, even children. Which means that any Harry Potter story taking place within the same times, should have some of the same aspects. I am sorry, but at the same time, I am glad that you loved Sammi and Jessalyn so much. I did too, and I was very sad that they die, that is why the last update took forever to post because writing it was hard._**

**_Now, I am happy to get ALL of the reviews that I did, bad or good either way, reviews are always welcome and appreciated and normally I would have answered them ALL back but there was simply no way, and you all wanted the same thing pretty much. If you had a question, and I did not answer it, please feel free to PM me, I always respond to my readers. If you want a question answered, you need to be a logged in member because normally I don't answer questions as an author's note. This is a special circumstance. ONE TIME ONLY So please PM me or ask them as a logged in reviewer. I promise I will reply. But please…In all seriousness…No more death threats.. Thanks._**

**_I am sorry this took so long but I was nervous to write it and scared to post it. _**

Chapter Twenty-Three

**Picking Up the Pieces**

Sirius sat on the edge of the hospital bed cradling Harry in his lap. He hadn't woke yet but the healers had assured him that it would be soon, he was just processing a lot. He looked up when the door to the room opened, expecting it to be Mel, back from getting breakfast. It was Dumbledore.

"Sirius." He said gravely.

"Sir." He replied respectfully.

"Sirius, have you seen Remus?" he asked softly.

Sirius shook his head, his friend hadn't been seen in two weeks, not since he left him to bring Harry to the hospital. The wizened wizard frowned and nodded in understanding. He cleared his throat.

"Sirius we need to place Harry with Lily's family." Dumbledore said gently but firm.

He had been telling him the same thing for the last two weeks.

"Listen Albus. Harry will go, with NO ONE but myself. And there is nothing that you can do about it. I gained custody of him years ago, so long ago in fact that the files are closed and it is absolute. He will go no where." Sirius replied with vehemence. It was a sign of the loss of respect between the two of them that Sirius called the man Albus, no longer referencing him as a superior.

Dumbledore sighed and walked farther into the room. His blue eyes pierced Sirius'.

"He is the chosen one. This boy will defeat Voldemort. We have to think about what is best for his future. Not your heart. I can't imagine how difficult this is for you."

Sirius was irate, only the child sleeping in his arms kept him from raising his voice, as it was, he spoke in a deadly whisper.

"You worry about him? You are concerned for his safety? You are right, you have NO idea. You see the boy who lived, the chosen one. I see James' SON. I see Lily's SON. I see my GODSON. He is not a warrior, he is not an order member, he is not a tool or a pawn. HE IS MY SON. When he wakes up, and I can leave with him. No one, will ever lay eyes or hands on him again. You will be lucky if he goes to Hogwarts because I WILL PROTECT HIM. And Voldemort and his sodding death eaters be damned."

Albus blinked at Sirius' response. It was obvious that this was decided, and Sirius was right, without his consent, there was legally nothing he could do. He sighed and left the room without saying anything more. Leaving Sirius alone with Harry.

It couldn't have been more than thirty minutes before Melanie came into the room, she gave him a sad smile when she saw him leaning against the wall holding the still unconscious child in his arms.

"How is he?" she asked, looking up at the charts that were flicking and ticking on the wall.

Sirius closed his eyes and sighed. "He is fine, just, sleeping, he just doesn't have the strength to wake up yet they said."

She nodded and sat down in the chair at the bedside and rested her head against Sirius' knee. He spoke quietly to her, though the enormity of his words was heavy in the air.

"Remus is gone, I know him, he won't be back for a long time, if at all. It is up to me to keep Harry safe, and secure. I want you with me, more than anything in this entire world. But you have to stay here Mel. I can't take you from your family, from your friends, your life. I have to take Harry, it isn't safe here, I have to protect him, but I can't put you in danger when you don't have to be."

She lifted her face to look at him.

"What? What are you saying? That after everything, you want me to stay behind? To leave you, and him? Sirius, I love you both, I can not just let you walk out of my life. I can not be left behind. You are my world, it doesn't exist without you in it." She said, a tremor in her voice.

Sirius sighed. "He has already lost so much, I can't have you with us and something happen to you. I can't let him lose another mother that way."

She looked at him, sadness in her eyes. "But he would be losing me now, he has lost so much, he just witnessed his best friend and auntie getting murdered, his uncle is gone, and you are going to ask me to go away too? You are taking the only stability he has left. He needs people who care about him Sirius. You are hurting him by keeping me away." Tears slipped down her cheeks. "I won't walk away from him. I won't walk away from you. You need me too, and I need you."

He looked up at her, speechless.

Sirius sighed deeply, his own eyes sparkling with unshed tears, he knew he couldn't stay with her, he knew that her being with them made her vulnerable to death eaters and would take away everything and everyone that she loved. He couldn't be the one to ask so much of her, he couldn't be the one that would ruin her life or cost her that life. Harry was worth everything that Sirius had to give, but he loved Mel too, and he knew that. He could not give her life for Harry's and he wouldn't. But he could give his own happiness for Harry's life.

He would have given anything in that moment for James to have been standing before him. For his best friend to walk through the door and to smile his lazy, always easy, smile. Just for James to tell him, he's safe, I'm here, you don't have to lose anyone else, Harry is safe, I've got him. Sirius felt a dry ache in his chest for everything thing that he had lost, for everything that Harry had lost at such a young age. This hadn't been what life was supposed to bring. Sirius was never meant to be Harry's father, that was James. James was the one that had grown up enough during his sixth year to be a father. James was the one that knew how to think about others first. James was the selfless one, the caring one, the one that was loyal to a fault. Not Sirius. James was the good father.

Sirius…Sirius didn't know how to be what he needed to be. He wasn't a father. He wasn't even a good Godfather. He hadn't been able to keep Harry safe, he had let him almost be killed by death eaters, again. He had let him see two of the most important people in his life, be murdered, again. The only thing he could think to do was to take him, and run, anywhere. Leaving Mel would keep her safe and hiding with Harry would ensure Harry's safety as well. As he opened his mouth to speak a different voice filled his ears.

"Daddy?"

Sirius nearly fell off the bed. He looked down at the small boy. As Mel jumped to her feet and leaned over them.

"Harry, oh Harry." Sirius said, cradling him up against him.

Mel couldn't speak, she merely let her tears fall in relief down her face.

Harry just looked up into Sirius' face before tears filled his startling green eyes.

"Is Sammi okay? And Auntie Jess…I couldn't make her wake up, she wouldn't wake up for Sammi and them men were laughing." He stammered.

Sirius' heart broke for Harry, right in that moment. Mel climbed up onto the bed as well, sitting at Sirius' side, she ran her hands through his tangled hair, tears escaping her eyes and flooding her face.

Sirius looked into the face of the most perfect child that he knew. "Harry, we can talk about them later, right now, let's make certain that you are healthy and safe." He said softly.

Harry shook his head and tried to sit up. "No, no, I want to see them, are they okay? I want to know they are alright." He demanded.

Sirius sighed and looked at Mel, who nodded her head.

"Son, you know how your daddy and your mummy are beyond the veil, something bad happened to them and so their bodies wouldn't be broken, they went beyond the veil to always be together and to watch over you?" he asked.

Harry nodded his head, and the tears that had been threatening to spill released, his little face screwed up against them. "They can't come home to me." He said softly, as Sirius' heart broke a bit more.

"That's right, they are beyond the veil." He choked on his next words. "What happened to Auntie Jess and Sammie was very bad, and very tragic, and they are now, happy, and safe, and most importantly, together, beyond the veil. With Sammi's daddy and your mummy and daddy."

Harry pulled himself from Sirius' arms trying to get away. Sirius released him, to keep him from getting hurt. He watched helplessly as he climbed down and stood in the center of the room, his little arms wrapped around himself as if he was holding himself together.

"NO! NO! THEY ARE NOT GONE FOREVER!" he stomped his foot.

Mel stood up and walked over to him, she knelt in front of the sobbing, adamant little boy. Sirius felt like he was frozen to the spot on the bed.

"Harry, little love, they are. " She put her hands on his shoulders. "Some very bad men, hurt them, you know that." She said gently. "But now they are beyond and they are happy, together, whole, safe. Sammi is with her mummy and daddy, right where she should always have been."

Harry dropped to the floor, sobbing. "NO! NO! She is supposeded to be with me. We said! WE SAID! We was gonna git married and be mummy and daddy and live in a dragon's cave and play quiddich all the time. And I CAN'T DO IT WITH OUT HER! I NEED HER!" he wailed into the floor.

Mel rubbed his back gently. "I know baby boy, we all need them, but when someone passes and you are left behind, you have to grow and live so that you make them proud."

He pulled from her. "NO, I WANT TO GO TO! I WANT TO GO WITH THEM, WITH SAMMI AND JESS AND MY MUM AND DADDY JAMES." He slumped into a boneless pile. "I want to go, I don't want to stay."

At this Sirius stood and walked over to his little boy. He lifted him into his arms and held him as his small body shook with sobs. "Son, if you were gone, who would I have left? When your mummy and daddy passed I felt just like this, and I still feel like this sometimes. But I also have things to be happy for. I am happy I have you and I am happy I have Mel. I love you so very much. And though I am sad about losing Jess and Sammi, I am so very glad that I knew them and I will always have them in my memories. They left those with us you know, you will always have your memories, No one will ever take them away."


	24. Author Note

_**Hey guys, **_

_**Sorry to get you excited for nothing,**_

_**But I have a problem.**_

_**All of my stories have somehow erased from my computer.**_

_**My wonderful Husband who is a computer repair operator is working on recovering them.**_

_**Until they are back...I will have no updates. I am so sorry.**_

_**Hopefully it will be soon. **_

_**I have not forgotten, you so hold on tight.**_

_**When I can, you will get several updates back to back**_

_**I promise.**_


	25. Chapter 24: Shattered

**_Pokes head in slowly._**

**_Hi, is anyone still wanting to see what happened here?_**

**_I hope so, I still want to see, so I am writing it :)_**

**_Small little problem_**

**_I can't decide which way I want to go with the story._**

**_I am completely torn between two different options._**

**_Sirius staying with Mel, or Sirius leaving Mel._**

**_Both change the story and the end DRASTICALLY. And I don't know what to do. _**

**_I am posting this, and it isn't long but I wanted you to have something. So bear with me._**

**_I just don't know what path we are on. I'm sorry,_**

**_Once I figure it out, this story will be done in a matter of months._**

**_But…good news is that updates will be regular now because I have my stories back._**

**_Just, which way to go here is eluding me._**

**_THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE REVIEWS! I am astounded, you are all amazing._**

**_I AM NOT JKR_**

Chapter 24

**Shattered**

The last two weeks had been hard on everyone. Sirius was so tired that he could barely think at all, let alone think straight. Harry had been plagued with night terrors every time he fell asleep, to the point that the poor child was afraid to sleep. He looked like he was a breathing, speaking, inferius child. It was heartbreaking to watch.

Today found Sirius sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, Harry was sleeping wrapped around his godfather, his arms around his neck and legs around his waist. Sirius held him tightly to his chest, knowing that this had proven to be the only way to get the boy to sleep more than an hour at a time. So far he had been asleep for the last three hours and Sirius still kept rocking gently, never stopping. Mel sat in a chair at the bedside, her own eyes closed as she got a rare moment of sleep. Her face as pale and exhausted with dark circles under her eyes. He knew he looked the same. His mind was so clouded with thoughts and paths that he didn't know what to do from here.

This week it had been made evident just how close Harry had become to Mel. She was one of the few people that Harry was actually speaking to at all, even if it was only sporadic words here or there or while he was crying and begging them to change it all. She spoke more words of comfort to Harry than Sirius did, simply because he couldn't find the words to say to his son, his godson. He had run out of ways to tell him that there was no way to change the past and that he couldn't bring them back.

It was proving even harder to make Harry understand that there was nothing he could do. In Harry's mind, his daddy could do anything. Sirius made the world turn for all Harry was concerned, of course he would fix everything, he would make everyone come home. But Sirius could no sooner even begin to attempt to find Remus as he could bring back the dead. It was too late for him to help either. It had now been 15 days since the attack, and 15 days since anyone had seen or heard from Remus. And Sirius knew his friend, he knew that in the face of heartbreak, he would run and not look back. There was no question in his mind, he couldn't find his best friend. Remus would only be found, when he wanted to be found, there was no other choice. The only way Sirius would find him would be if he left and searched for ages, and to do that, he would have to leave Harry, and that, was just never going to happen.

They were awaiting the healer to come in soon. They had been kept here for so long because of Harry's condition. He had expended so much magical energy in making that explosion that he had nearly shattered his magical core, making his magic unstable, and volatile. He was far too young to know how to stabilize it himself, and there was something that was rendering his core even more unstable than the fact that he had completely drained it of all magic. The healers were baffled, and all of it only left Sirius more intent on getting Harry away and safe. Safe from anything that could possibly harm him again.

Just as Sirius' mind ran in another set of circles, keeping him from the decision he had yet to make, the door to the private, protected ward opened and Harry's healer came in.

"Mr. Black, how are you today?" he asked in a quiet voice, seeing that Harry was sleeping.

Mel's head popped up suddenly at the voice.

"He has been asleep for a few hours, they gave him a minor dose of dreamless sleep. I am hoping it lasts." Sirius whispered.

The healer nodded in understanding. "I have some news, not much, but some."

Mel sat up straighter in anticipation, Sirius gripped Harry tighter and practically held his breath.

"His magical core is drained completely, it will take months for it to fully replenish, more than that if he keeps spouting accidental magic like he is. Which is unusual as he is drained, he shouldn't have the ability to produce magic at all. Let alone the strength of it. Dumbledore has a theory that he won't share with any of us. He left suddenly the other day and I haven't seen him since."

Sirius narrowed his eyes slightly, he was still not happy with his former headmaster. "What should we be doing?" he asked quietly.

The healer shook his head. "Nothing, there is nothing that can be done, he is physically well. The goal right now would be to keep him from spouting magic, as it will only take longer for his core to replenish the more magic he does. Once his core restrengthens, it will take a lot of training and working with him to help him stabilize it. I think, the best course of action right now would be to bind his magic until his core replenishes."

"If we bind his magic he'll have no means of self- protection." Mel protested.

"That is not an option." Sirius stated firmly.

"Whatever is causing these bouts of rage from him and these bursts of magical energy has to be stopped, the only way to stop it is to bind him from creating magic, I think that a year should be sufficient. At the end of the year, whoever bound the magic can unbind it. I think it would be best if it was you or Dumbledore, as the binding and unbinding of magic can sometimes create a stronger bond between the two involved. It is not ideal, but it is necessary, he will just require more protection from those around him."

Sirius buried his face in Harry's hair. He closed his eyes and gripped the seven year old tight.

"As it is, he is healthy other than being depleted. And I am releasing him in two days time. After the binding is complete. If you choose not to bind his magic, I can not release him. If he uses magic and it expends anymore of his core, it could kill him. I am urging you to see that this is necessary and can not be avoided." He looked at Sirius and then Mel before turning and leaving the room.

Sirius turned his gaze to Mel, his blue eyes holding sadness and fear within them. "I don't want to bind his magic." He said quietly.

Mel frowned her eyes filled with tears. She stood up and walked to the bed, and sat upon it, leaning against Sirius's shoulder and rubbing Harry's hair softly.

"I don't want you to either, but I would rather have to increase protection than him accidentally kill himself." She said softly, looking down into the sleeping little boy that she loved as a son.

Sirius nodded once. "You're right…I know." He said quietly, his mind filtering through options.

Mel rested her head on his shoulder. "I am not leaving, nothing you say will ever make me leave you." She said, resolved in her decision.

Sirius leaned his cheek to the side, resting it on her head. "I know. "

"I love you Sirius, both you and Harry. You belong to me." She whispered, her tears sliding down her cheeks.

"We love you too Mel, more than you can imagine. " He kissed her head gently.

"I will not leave." She repeated.

Sirius sighed and closed his eyes, "I know, I know that you won't."


End file.
